Kivy Latest PDF

Kivy Documentation
Release 1.9.1-dev
www.kivy.org
CONTENTS
Users Guide
Installation
1.1 Stable Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2 Development Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Philosophy
2.1 Why bother? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Contributing
3.1 Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.2 Reporting an Issue . . . . . . .
3.3 Code Contributions . . . . . .
3.4 Documentation Contributions
3.5 Unit tests contributions . . . .
3.6 GSOC . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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FAQ
4.1 Technical FAQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.2 Android FAQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3 Project FAQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Contact Us
5.1 Issue Tracker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2 Mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.3 IRC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Programming Guide
Kivy Basics
6.1 Installation of the Kivy environment
6.2 Create an application . . . . . . . .
6.3 Kivy App Life Cycle . . . . . . . . .
6.4 Running the application . . . . . . .
6.5 Customize the application . . . . . .
6.6 Platform specifics . . . . . . . . . . .
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Controlling the environment

7.1 Path control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.2 Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.3 Restrict core to specific implementation
7.4 Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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7.5
Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Configure Kivy
8.1 Locating the configuration file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.2 Understanding config tokens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Architectural Overview
9.1 Core Providers and Input Providers
9.2 Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9.3 Core . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9.4 UIX (Widgets & Layouts) . . . . . .
9.5 Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9.6 Input Events (Touches) . . . . . . .
9.7 Widgets and Event Dispatching . .
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10 Events and Properties

10.1 Introduction to the Event Dispatcher
10.2 Main loop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.3 Widget events . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.4 Creating custom events . . . . . . . .
10.5 Attaching callbacks . . . . . . . . . . .
10.6 Introduction to Properties . . . . . . .
10.7 Declaration of a Property . . . . . . .
10.8 Dispatching a Property event . . . . .
10.9 Compound Properties . . . . . . . . .
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11 Input management
11.1 Input architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.2 Motion event profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.3 Touch events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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12 Widgets
12.1 Introduction to Widget . . . . . . . . .
12.2 Manipulating the Widget tree . . . . . .
12.3 Traversing the Tree . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.4 Widgets Z Index . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.5 Organize with Layouts . . . . . . . . .
12.6 Adding a Background to a Layout . . .
12.7 Nesting Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.8 Size and position metrics . . . . . . . .
12.9 Screen Separation with Screen Manager
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13 Graphics
13.1 Introduction to Canvas .
13.2 Context instructions . . .
13.3 Drawing instructions . .
13.4 Manipulating instructions
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14 Kv language
14.1 Concept behind the language
14.2 How to load KV . . . . . . .
14.3 Rule context . . . . . . . . . .
14.4 Special syntaxes . . . . . . .
14.5 Instantiate children . . . . . .
14.6 Event Bindings . . . . . . . .
14.7 Extend canvas . . . . . . . . .
14.8 Referencing Widgets . . . . .
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14.9
14.10
14.11
14.12
Accessing Widgets defined inside Kv lang in your python code

Dynamic Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Re-using styles in multiple widgets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Designing with the Kivy Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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15 Integrating with other Frameworks

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15.1 Using Twisted inside Kivy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
16 Best Practices
16.1 Designing your Application code
16.2 Handle Window re-sizing . . . . .
16.3 Managing resources . . . . . . . .
16.4 Platform consideration . . . . . . .
16.5 Tips and Tricks . . . . . . . . . . .
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17 Advanced Graphics
17.1 Create your own Shader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17.2 Rendering in a Framebuffer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17.3 Optimizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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18 Packaging your application

18.1 Create a package for Windows . . .
18.2 Create a package for Android . . . .
18.3 The Kivy Android Virtual Machine
18.4 Kivy on Android . . . . . . . . . . .
18.5 Creating packages for OS X . . . . .
18.6 Create a package for IOS . . . . . .
18.7 IOS Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . .
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.
Tutorials
19 Pong Game Tutorial

19.1 Introduction . . . . . . .
19.2 Getting Started . . . . .
19.3 Add Simple Graphics .
19.4 Add the Ball . . . . . . .
19.5 Adding Ball Animation
19.6 Connect Input Events .
19.7 Where To Go Now? . .
135
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137
137
138
138
140
142
145
148
20 A Simple Paint App

149
20.1 Basic Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
20.2 Paint Widget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
IV
API Reference
21 Kivy framework
21.1 NO DOCUMENTATION (module kivy.uix.behaviors)
21.3 Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21.4 Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21.5 Asynchronous data loader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21.6 Atlas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21.7 Cache manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21.8 Clock object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
159
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161
162
162
162
172
183
185
188
190
iii
21.9
21.10
21.11
21.12
21.13
21.14
21.15
21.16
21.17
21.18
21.19
21.20
21.21
21.22
21.23
21.24
21.25
21.26
21.27
21.28
Compatibility module for Python 2.7 and > 3.3

Configuration object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Event dispatcher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Factory object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Geometry utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Gesture recognition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Interactive launcher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kivy Base . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kivy Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Logger object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Multistroke gesture recognizer . . . . . . . . .
Parser utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Resources management . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Utils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Vector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Weak Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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195
195
200
200
207
208
209
210
213
215
229
230
232
240
241
251
252
252
254
258
22 Adapters
22.1 The Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
22.2 The Components . . . . . . . . . . . .
22.3 Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
22.4 DictAdapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
22.5 List Item View Argument Converters
22.6 ListAdapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
22.7 SelectableDataItem . . . . . . . . . . .
22.8 SimpleListAdapter . . . . . . . . . . .
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259
259
259
260
261
262
263
265
266
23 Core Abstraction
23.1 Audio . . .
23.2 Camera . .
23.3 Clipboard .
23.4 OpenGL . .
23.5 Image . . .
23.6 Spelling . .
23.7 Text . . . . .
23.8 Video . . . .
23.9 Window . .
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267
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269
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270
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274
275
281
282
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24 Kivy module for binary dependencies.
291
25 Effects
25.1 Damped scroll effect
25.2 Kinetic effect . . . .
25.3 Opacity scroll effect
25.4 Scroll effect . . . . .
293
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295
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26 Extension Support
297
26.1 Naming and versioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
27 Garden
301
27.1 Packaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
iv
28 Graphics
28.1 The basics . . . . . . . . .
28.2 GL Reloading mechanism
28.3 Canvas . . . . . . . . . . .
28.4 Context instructions . . .
28.5 Context management . .
28.6 Framebuffer . . . . . . . .
28.7 GL instructions . . . . . .
28.8 Graphics compiler . . . .
28.9 OpenGL . . . . . . . . . .
28.10 OpenGL utilities . . . . .
28.11 SVG . . . . . . . . . . . .
28.12 Scissor Instructions . . . .
28.13 Shader . . . . . . . . . . .
28.14 Stencil instructions . . . .
28.15 Tesselator . . . . . . . . .
28.16 Texture . . . . . . . . . . .
28.17 Transformation . . . . . .
28.18 Vertex Instructions . . . .
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303
303
303
323
327
331
332
334
335
336
344
346
346
347
349
351
353
359
362
29 Input management
29.1 Input Postprocessing . .
29.2 Providers . . . . . . . .
29.3 Input recorder . . . . .
29.4 Motion Event . . . . . .
29.5 Motion Event Factory .
29.6 Motion Event Provider
29.7 Motion Event Shape . .
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371
373
375
381
383
387
388
388
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30 External libraries
389
30.1 GstPlayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
31 Modules
31.1 Activating a module . . .
31.2 Create your own module
31.3 Console . . . . . . . . . .
31.4 Inspector . . . . . . . . . .
31.5 Keybinding . . . . . . . .
31.6 Monitor module . . . . .
31.7 Recorder module . . . . .
31.8 Screen . . . . . . . . . . .
31.9 Touchring . . . . . . . . .
31.10 Web Debugger . . . . . .
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391
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399
32 Network support
401
32.1 Url Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
33 Storage
33.1 Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
33.2 Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
33.3 Synchronous / Asynchronous API
33.4 Synchronous container type . . . .
33.5 Dictionary store . . . . . . . . . . .
33.6 JSON store . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
33.7 Redis Store . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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405
405
405
406
406
408
408
409
34 Widgets
34.1 Behaviors . . . . . . . . .
34.2 Abstract View . . . . . . .
34.3 Accordion . . . . . . . . .
34.4 Action Bar . . . . . . . . .
34.5 Anchor Layout . . . . . .
34.6 Box Layout . . . . . . . .
34.7 Bubble . . . . . . . . . . .
34.8 Button . . . . . . . . . . .
34.9 Camera . . . . . . . . . .
34.10 Carousel . . . . . . . . . .
34.11 CheckBox . . . . . . . . .
34.12 Code Input . . . . . . . .
34.13 Color Picker . . . . . . . .
34.14 Drop-Down List . . . . .
34.15 EffectWidget . . . . . . .
34.16 FileChooser . . . . . . . .
34.17 Float Layout . . . . . . . .
34.18 Gesture Surface . . . . . .
34.19 Grid Layout . . . . . . . .
34.20 Image . . . . . . . . . . .
34.21 Label . . . . . . . . . . . .
34.22 Layout . . . . . . . . . . .
34.23 List View . . . . . . . . .
34.24 ModalView . . . . . . . .
34.25 PageLayout . . . . . . . .
34.26 Popup . . . . . . . . . . .
34.27 Progress Bar . . . . . . . .
34.28 Relative Layout . . . . . .
34.29 Sandbox . . . . . . . . . .
34.30 Scatter . . . . . . . . . . .
34.31 Scatter Layout . . . . . . .
34.32 Screen Manager . . . . . .
34.33 Scroll View . . . . . . . .
34.34 Settings . . . . . . . . . .
34.35 Slider . . . . . . . . . . . .
34.36 Spinner . . . . . . . . . .
34.37 Splitter . . . . . . . . . . .
34.38 Stack Layout . . . . . . .
34.39 Stencil View . . . . . . . .
34.40 Switch . . . . . . . . . . .
34.41 TabbedPanel . . . . . . .
34.42 Text Input . . . . . . . . .
34.43 Toggle button . . . . . . .
34.44 Tree View . . . . . . . . .
34.45 VKeyboard . . . . . . . .
34.46 Video . . . . . . . . . . . .
34.47 Video player . . . . . . .
34.48 Widget class . . . . . . . .
34.49 reStructuredText renderer
Appendix
35 License
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Python Module Index
595
vii
viii
Welcome to Kivys documentation. Kivy is an open source software library for the rapid development
of applications equipped with novel user interfaces, such as multi-touch apps.
We recommend that you get started with Getting Started. Then head over to the Programming Guide.
We also have Create an application if you are impatient.
You are probably wondering why you should be interested in using Kivy. There is a document outlining
our Philosophy that we encourage you to read, and a detailed Architectural Overview.
If you want to contribute to Kivy, make sure to read Contributing. If your concern isnt addressed in the
documentation, feel free to Contact Us.
Part I
USERS GUIDE
This part of the documentation explains the basic ideas behind Kivys design and why youd want to use
it. It goes on with a discussion of the architecture and shows you how to create stunning applications
in a short time using the framework.
CHAPTER
ONE
INSTALLATION
We try not to reinvent the wheel, but to bring something innovative to the market. As a consequence,
were focused on our own code and use pre-existing, high-quality third-party libraries where possible.
To support the full, rich set of features that Kivy offers, several other libraries are required. If you do
not use a specific feature (e.g. video playback), you dont need the corresponding dependency. That
said, there is one dependency that Kivy does require: Cython.
This version of Kivy requires at least Cython version 0.20, and has been tested through 0.23. Later
versions may work, but as they have not been tested there is no guarantee.
In addition, you need a Python 2.x (2.7 <= x < 3.0) or 3.x (3.3 <= x) interpreter. If you want to enable
features like windowing (i.e. open a Window), audio/video playback or spelling correction, additional
dependencies must be available. For these, we recommend Pygame, Gst-Python and PyEnchant, respectively.
NOTE: Currently, packaging only works with Python 2.7. We are working on Python 3.3+ support,
but for now if you plan to distribute your package on any platform you should use Python 2.7.
Other optional libraries (mutually independent) are:
OpenCV 2.0 Camera input.
PIL Image and text display.
PyCairo Text display.
PyEnchant Spelling correction.
PyGST Audio/video playback and camera input.
That said, DONT PANIC!
We dont expect you to install all those things on your own. Instead, we have created nice portable
packages that you can use directly, and they already contain the necessary packages for your platform.
We just want you to know that there are alternatives to the defaults and give you an overview of the
things Kivy uses internally.
1.1 Stable Version

The latest stable version can be found on Kivys website at http://kivy.org/#download. Please refer to
the installation instructions for your specific platform:
1.1.1 Installation on Windows

Beginning with 1.9.1 we provide wheels for Kivy and all its dependencies to be used with an existing
Python installation. We also provide nightly wheels from Kivy master. See also upgrade-win-dist.
What are wheels, pip and wheel

To install Kivy wheels, Python first needs to be installed. Multiple versions of Python can be installed
side by side.
In Python, packages such as Kivy can be installed with the python package manager, pip. Some packages such as Kivy require additional steps, such as compilation, when installing using the Kivy source
code with pip. Wheels (with a .whl extension) are pre-built distributions of a package that has already
been compiled and do not require additional steps to install.
When hosted on pypi one installs a wheel using pip, e.g. python -m pip install kivy.
To install a downloaded wheel file wheel must be used, e.g. python -m wheel install
Kivy-1.9.1.dev0-cp27-none-win32.whl.
Kivys dependencies
We offer wheels for Kivy and its dependencies separately so only desired dependencies need be installed. The dependencies are offered as namespace packages of Kivy.deps, e.g. kivy.deps.sdl2.
Currently on Windows, we provide the following dependency wheels: gstreamer for audio and video
and glew and sdl2 for graphics and control. gstreamer is an optional dependency which doesnt need
to be installed if no video/audio will be used.
Command line
Know your command line. To execute any of the pip or wheel commands, one needs a command line
tool with python on the path. The default command line on Windows is CMD, but we recommend Git
for Windows which offers a bash command line as well as git. Note, CMD can still be used even if bash
is installed.
Walking the path! To add your python to the path, simply open your command line and then us the
cd command to change the current directory to where python is installed, e.g. cd C:\Python27.
Alternatively if you only have one python version installed, permanently add the python directory to
the path for CMD for bash.
Installation
Now that python is available on the command line, which can checked by typing python --version,
do the following to install.
1. Ensure you have the latest pip and wheel:
python -m pip install --upgrade pip wheel setuptools
2. Install the dependencies (skip gstreamer (~90MB) if not needed):

python -m pip install docutils pygments pypiwin32 kivy.deps.sdl2 kivy.deps.glew
kivy.deps.gstreamer --allow-external kivy.deps.gstreamer
3. Install kivy:
python -m pip install kivy
Thats it. You should now be able to import kivy in your python.
Nightly wheel installation

Warning: Using the latest development version can be risky and you might encounter issues during
development. If you encounter any bugs, please report them.
Snapshot wheels of current Kivy master are created every night. They can be found here. To use them,
instead of doing python -m pip install kivy well install one of these wheels as follows.
1. Download the appropriate wheel for your system.
2. Rename the wheel to remove the version tag, e.g. Kivy-1.9.1.dev0_30112015_gitc68b630-cp27-none-wi

should be renamed to Kivy-1.9.1.dev0-cp27-none-win32.whl.
3. Install it with python -m wheel install wheel-name where wheel-name is the name of
the renamed file.
Use development Kivy
Warning: Using the latest development version can be risky and you might encounter issues during
development. If you encounter any bugs, please report them.
To compile and install kivy using the kivy source code or to use kivy with git rather than a wheel there
are some additional steps:
1. Both the python and the Python\Scripts directories must be on the path They must be on the
path every time you recompile kivy.
2. Ensure you have the latest pip and wheel with:
python -m pip install --upgrade pip wheel setuptools
3. Create the python\Lib\distutils\distutils.cfg file and add the two lines:

[build]
compiler = mingw32
4. Install MinGW with:

python -m pip install -i https://pypi.anaconda.org/carlkl/simple mingwpy
5. Set the environment variables. On windows do:

set USE_SDL2=1
set USE_GSTREAMER=1
In bash do:
export USE_SDL2=1
export USE_GSTREAMER=1
These variables must be set everytime you recompile kivy.

6. Install the other dependencies as well as their dev versions (you can skip gstreamer and
gstreamer_dev if you arent going to use video/audio):
python -m pip install cython docutils pygments pypiwin32 kivy.deps.sdl2
kivy.deps.glew kivy.deps.gstreamer kivy.deps.glew_dev kivy.deps.sdl2_dev
kivy.deps.gstreamer_dev --allow-external kivy.deps.gstreamer
7. If you downloaded or cloned kivy to an alternate location and dont want to install it to sitepackages read the next section.
8. Finally compile and install kivy with pip install filename, where filename can be a url
such as https://github.com/kivy/kivy/archive/deps.zip for kivy master, or the full
path to a local copy of a kivy zip.
Installing Kivy to an alternate location
In development Kivy is often installed to an alternate location and then installed with python -m
pip install -e location, which allows it to remain in its original location while being available
to python. In that case extra tweaking is required. Due to a issue wheel and pip install the dependency wheels to python\Lib\site-packages\kivy. So they need to be moved to your actual kivy
installation.
After installing the kivy dependencies and downloading or cloning kivy to your favorite location, do
the following:
1. Move the contents of python\Lib\site-packages\kivy\deps to your-path\kivy\deps
where your-path is the path where your kivy is located.
2. Remove the python\Lib\site-packages\kivy directory altogether.
3. From python\Lib\site-packages delete or move all the kivy.deps.*.pth files.
Now you can safely compile kivy in its current location with make or python -m pip install -e
location or just python setup.py build_ext --inplace.
Making Python available anywhere
There are two methods for launching python on your *.py files.
Double-click method
If you only have one Python installed, you can associate all *.py files with your python, if it isnt already,
and then run it by double clicking. Or you can only do it once if you wnat to be able to choose each
time:
1. Right click on the Python file (.py file extension) of the application you want to launch
2. From the context menu that appears, select Open With
3. Browse your hard disk drive and find the file python.exe that you want to use. Select it.
4. Select Always open the file with... if you dont want to repeat this procedure every time you
double click a .py file.
5. You are done. Open the file.
Send-to method
You can launch a .py file with our Python using the Send-to menu:
1. Browse to the python.exe file you want to use. Right click on it and copy it.
2. Open Windows explorer (File explorer in Windows 8), and to go the address shell:sendto. You
should get the special Windows directory SendTo
3. Paste the previously copied python.exe file as a shortcut.
#. Rename it to python <python-version>. E.g. python27-x64 You can now execute your application
by right clicking on the .py file -> Send To -> python <python-version>.
Upgrading from a previous Kivy dist
To install the new wheels to a previous Kivy distribution all the files and folders, except for the python
folder should be deleted from the distribution. This python folder will then be treated as a normal
system installed python and all the steps described in Installation can then be continued.
1.1.2 Installation on OS X
Using The Kivy.app
Note: This method has only been tested on OS X 10.7 Lion 64-bit. For versions prior to 10.7 or 10.7
32-bit, you have to install the components yourself. We suggest using homebrew to do that.
For OS X 10.7 and later, we provide a Kivy.app with all dependencies bundled. Download it from our
Download Page. It comes as a .dmg file that contains:
Kivy.app
Readme.txt
An Examples folder
A script to install a kivy command for shell usage
To install Kivy, you must:
1. Download the latest version from http://kivy.org/#download
2. Double-click to open it
3. Drag the Kivy.app into your Applications folder
4. Double click the makesymlinks script.
You should now have a kivy script that you can use to launch your kivy app from terminal.
You can just drag and drop your main.py to run your app too.
Installing modules
Kivy package on osx uses its own virtual env that is activated when you run your app using kivy
command. To install any module you need to install the module like so:
$ kivy -m pip install <modulename>
Start any Kivy Application

You can run any Kivy application by simply dragging the applications main file onto the Kivy.app icon.
Just try this with any python file in the examples folder.
Start from the Command Line

If you want to use Kivy from the command line, double-click the Make Symlinks script after you
have dragged the Kivy.app into the Applications folder. To test if it worked:
1. Open Terminal.app and enter:
$ kivy
You should get a Python prompt.

2. In there, type:
>>> import kivy
If it just goes to the next line without errors, it worked.

3. Running any Kivy application from the command line is now simply a matter of executing a
command like the following:
$ kivy yourapplication.py
Using pip
Alternatively you can install Kivy using the following steps:
1. Install the requirements using homebrew:
$ brew install sdl2 sdl2_image sdl2_ttf sdl2_mixer gstreamer
2. Install cython 0.21.2 and kivy using pip:

$ pip install -I Cython==0.21.2
$ USE_OSX_FRAMEWORKS=0 pip install git+https://github.com/kivy/[email protected]
1.1.3 Installation on Linux

Using software packages
For installing distribution relative packages .deb/.rpm/...
Ubuntu / Kubuntu / Xubuntu / Lubuntu (Saucy and above)

1. Add one of the PPAs as you prefer
stable builds $ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kivy-team/kivy
nightly builds $ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kivy-team/kivy-daily
2. Update your packagelist using your package manager
3. Install Kivy
Python2 - python-kivy $ sudo apt-get install python-kivy
Python3 - python3-kivy $ sudo apt-get install python3-kivy
optionally the examples - kivy-examples $
examples
10
sudo
apt-get
install
kivy-
Debian (Jessie or newer)

1. Add one of the PPAs to your sources.list in apt manually or via Synaptic
Jessie/Testing:
stable builds deb
trusty main
http://ppa.launchpad.net/kivy-team/kivy/ubuntu
daily builds deb

daily/ubuntu trusty main
http://ppa.launchpad.net/kivy-team/kivy-
Sid/Unstable:
stable builds deb
utopic main
http://ppa.launchpad.net/kivy-team/kivy/ubuntu
daily builds deb

daily/ubuntu utopic main
http://ppa.launchpad.net/kivy-team/kivy-
Notice: Wheezy is not supported - Youll need to upgrade to Jessie at least!

2. Add the GPG key to your apt keyring by executing
as user:
sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys
A863D2D6
as root:
apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys
A863D2D6
3. Refresh your package list and install python-kivy and/or python3-kivy and optionally the examples found in kivy-examples
Linux Mint
1. Find out on which Ubuntu release your installation is based on, using this overview.
2. Continue as described for Ubuntu above, depending on which version your installation is based
on.
Bodhi Linux
1. Find out which version of the distribution you are running and use the table below to find out on
which Ubuntu LTS it is based.
Bodhi 1 Ubuntu 10.04 LTS aka Lucid (No packages, just manual install)
Bodhi 2 Ubuntu 12.04 LTS aka Precise
Bodhi 3 Ubuntu 14.04 LTS aka Trusty
2. Continue as described for Ubuntu above, depending on which version your installation is based
on.
11
OpenSuSE
1. To install kivy go to http://software.opensuse.org/package/python-Kivy and use the 1 Click
Install for your openSuse version. You might need to make the latest kivy version appear
in the list by clicking on Show unstable packages. We prefer to use packages by devel:languages:python.
2. If you would like access to the examples, please select python-Kivy-examples in the upcomming
installation wizard.
Fedora
1. Adding the repository via the terminal:
Fedora 18
$ sudo yum-config-manager --add-repo=http://download.opensuse.org\
/repositories/home:/thopiekar:/kivy/Fedora_18/home:thopiekar:kivy.repo
Fedora 17
Fedora 16
2. Use your preferred package-manager to refresh your packagelists

3. Install python-Kivy and optionally the examples, as found in python-Kivy-examples
Gentoo
1. There is a kivy ebuild (kivy stable version)
emerge Kivy
2. available USE-flags are:
cairo: Standard flag, let kivy use cairo graphical libraries. camera: Install libraries needed to support
camera. doc: Standard flag, will make you build the documentation localy. examples: Standard flag,
will give you kivy examples programs. garden: Install garden tool to manage user maintained widgets.
gstreamer: Standard flag, kivy will be able to use audio/video streaming libraries. spell: Standard flag,
provide enchant to use spelling in kivy apps.
1.1.4 Installation in a Virtual Environment

Common dependencies
Cython
Different versions of Kivy have only been tested up to a certain Cython version. It may or may not
work with a later version.
12
Kivy
1.8
1.9
1.9.1
Cython
0.20.2
0.21.2
0.23
Dependencies with SDL2
Ubuntu example
# Install necessary system packages
sudo apt-get install -y \
python-pip \
build-essential \
git \
python \
python-dev \
ffmpeg \
libsdl2-dev \
libsdl2-image-dev \
libsdl2-mixer-dev \
libsdl2-ttf-dev \
libportmidi-dev \
libswscale-dev \
libavformat-dev \
libavcodec-dev \
zlib1g-dev
Note: Depending on your Linux version, you may receive error messages related to the ffmpeg package. In this scenario, use libav-tools in place of ffmpeg (above), or use a PPA (as shown below):
- sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mc3man/trusty-media
- sudo apt-get update
- sudo apt-get install ffmpeg
Installation
# Make sure Pip, Virtualenv and Setuptools are updated
sudo pip install --upgrade pip virtualenv setuptools
# Create a virtualenv
virtualenv --no-site-packages kivyinstall
# Enter the virtualenv
. kivyinstall/bin/activate
# Use correct Cython version here
pip install Cython==0.21.2
# Install stable version of Kivy into the virtualenv
pip install kivy
# For the development version of Kivy, use the following command instead
# pip install git+https://github.com/kivy/kivy.git@master
13
Python 3
If you want to use Python 3 you install python3 and python3-dev and then pass -p python3 to
virtualenv.
Dependencies with legacy PyGame
Ubuntu example
# Install necessary system packages
sudo apt-get install -y \
python-pip \
build-essential \
mercurial \
git \
python \
python-dev \
ffmpeg \
libsdl-image1.2-dev \
libsdl-mixer1.2-dev \
libsdl-ttf2.0-dev \
libsmpeg-dev \
libsdl1.2-dev \
libportmidi-dev \
libswscale-dev \
libavformat-dev \
libavcodec-dev \
zlib1g-dev
Fedora
$ sudo yum install \
make \
mercurial \
automake \
gcc \
gcc-c++ \
SDL_ttf-devel \
SDL_mixer-devel \
khrplatform-devel \
mesa-libGLES \
mesa-libGLES-devel \
gstreamer-plugins-good \
gstreamer \
gstreamer-python \
mtdev-devel \
python-devel \
python-pip
OpenSuse
$ sudo zypper install \
python-distutils-extra \
python-gstreamer-0_10 \
14
python-enchant \
gstreamer-0_10-plugins-good \
python-devel \
Mesa-devel \
python-pip
$ sudo zypper install -t pattern devel_C_C++
Installation
# Make sure Pip, Virtualenv and Setuptools are updated
sudo pip install --upgrade pip virtualenv setuptools
# Create a virtualenv
virtualenv --no-site-packages kivyinstall
# Enter the virtualenv
. kivyinstall/bin/activate
pip install numpy
pip install Cython==0.21.2
# If you want to install pygame backend instead of sdl2
# you can install pygame using command below and enforce using
# export USE_SDL2=0. If kivy's setup can't find sdl2 libs it will
# automatically set this value to 0 then try to build using pygame.
pip install hg+http://bitbucket.org/pygame/pygame
# Install stable version of Kivy into the virtualenv

pip install kivy
# For the development version of Kivy, use the following command instead
# pip install git+https://github.com/kivy/kivy.git@master
Install additional Virtualenv packages

# Install development version of buildozer into the virtualenv
pip install git+https://github.com/kivy/buildozer.git@master
# Install development version of plyer into the virtualenv
pip install git+https://github.com/kivy/plyer.git@master
# Install a couple of dependencies for KivyCatalog
pip install -U pygments docutils
Start from the Command Line

We ship some examples that are ready-to-run. However, theses examples are packaged inside the package. This means you must first know where easy_install has installed your current kivy package, and
then go to the examples directory:
$ python -c "import pkg_resources; print(pkg_resources.resource_filename('kivy', '../share/kivy-e
15
And you should have a path similar to:
/usr/local/lib/python2.6/dist-packages/Kivy-1.0.4_beta-py2.6-linux-x86_64.egg/share/kivy-examples
Then you can go to the example directory, and run it:

#
$
$
$
launch touchtracer
cd <path to kivy-examples>
cd demo/touchtracer
python main.py
#
$
$
$
launch pictures
cd <path to kivy-examples>
cd demo/pictures
python main.py
If you are familiar with Unix and symbolic links, you can create a link directly in your home directory
for easier access. For example:
1. Get the example path from the command line above
2. Paste into your console:
$ ln -s <path to kivy-examples> ~/
3. Then, you can access to kivy-examples directly in your home directory:

$ cd ~/kivy-examples
If you wish to start your Kivy programs as scripts (by typing ./main.py) or by double-clicking them, you
will want to define the correct version of Python by linking to it. Something like:
$ sudo ln -s /usr/bin/python2.7 /usr/bin/kivy
Or, if you are running Kivy inside a virtualenv, link to the Python interpreter for it, like:
$ sudo ln -s /home/your_username/Envs/kivy/bin/python2.7 /usr/bin/kivy
Then, inside each main.py, add a new first line:

#!/usr/bin/kivy
NOTE: Beware of Python files stored with Windows-style line endings (CR-LF). Linux will not ignore
the <CR> and will try to use it as part of the file name. This makes confusing error messages. Convert
to Unix line endings.
1.1.5 Installation on Android

Kivy is a Python framework, and simply installing it on an Android device the same way as on a
desktop machine will do nothing. However, you can compile a Kivy application to a standard Android
APK that will run just like a normal java app on (more or less) any device.
We provide several different tools to help you run code on an Android device, covered fully in the
Android packaging documentation. These include creating a fully standalone APK that may be released
on an Android store, as well as the ability to run your Kivy apps without a compilation step using our
pre-prepared Kivy Launcher app.
1.1.6 Installation on Raspberry Pi

You can install Kivy manually, or you can download and boot KivyPie on the Raspberry Pi. Both options
are described below.
16
Manual installation (On Raspbian Jessie)

1. Install the dependencies:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install libsdl2-dev libsdl2-image-dev libsdl2-mixer-dev libsdl2-ttf-dev \
pkg-config libgl1-mesa-dev libgles2-mesa-dev \
python-setuptools libgstreamer1.0-dev git-core \
gstreamer1.0-plugins-{bad,base,good,ugly} \
gstreamer1.0-{omx,alsa} python-dev cython
2. Install Kivy globally on your system:

sudo pip install git+https://github.com/kivy/kivy.git@master
3. Or build and use kivy inplace (best for development):

git clone https://github.com/kivy/kivy
cd kivy
make
echo "export PYTHONPATH=$(pwd):\$PYTHONPATH" >> ~/.profile
source ~/.profile
Manual installation (On Raspbian Wheezy)

1. Add APT sources for Gstreamer 1.0 in /etc/apt/sources.list:
deb http://vontaene.de/raspbian-updates/ . main
2. Add APT key for vontaene.de:

gpg --recv-keys 0C667A3E
gpg -a --export 0C667A3E | sudo apt-key add -
3. Install the dependencies:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install libsdl2-dev libsdl2-image-dev libsdl2-mixer-dev libsdl2-ttf-dev \
pkg-config libgl1-mesa-dev libgles2-mesa-dev \
python-setuptools libgstreamer1.0-dev git-core \
gstreamer1.0-plugins-{bad,base,good,ugly} \
gstreamer1.0-{omx,alsa} python-dev
4. Install pip from source:

wget https://raw.github.com/pypa/pip/master/contrib/get-pip.py
sudo python get-pip.py
5. Install Cython from sources (debian package are outdated):

sudo pip install cython
6. Install Kivy globally on your system:

sudo pip install git+https://github.com/kivy/kivy.git@master
7. Or build and use kivy inplace (best for development):
17

cd kivy
make
echo "export PYTHONPATH=$(pwd):\$PYTHONPATH" >> ~/.profile
source ~/.profile
KivyPie distribution
KivyPie is a compact and lightweight Raspbian based distribution that comes with Kivy installed and
ready to run. It is the result of applying the manual installation steps described above, with a few
more extra tools. You can download the image from http://kivypie.mitako.eu/kivy-download.html
and boot it on a Raspberry PI.
Running the demo
Go to your kivy/examples folder, youll have tons of demo you could try.
You could start the showcase:
cd kivy/examples/demo/showcase
python main.py
3d monkey demo is also fun too see:

cd kivy/examples/3Drendering
python main.py
Change the default screen to use

You can set an environment variable named KIVY_BCM_DISPMANX_ID in order to change the display
used to run Kivy. For example, to force the display to be HDMI, use:
KIVY_BCM_DISPMANX_ID=2 python main.py
Check the guide/environment documentation to see all the possible value.

Using Official RPi touch display
If you are using the official Raspberry Pi touch display, you need to configure Kivy to use it as an input
source. To do this, edit the file ~/.kivy/config.ini and go to the [input] section. Add this:
mouse = mouse
mtdev_%(name)s = probesysfs,provider=mtdev
hid_%(name)s = probesysfs,provider=hidinput
For more information about configuring Kivy, see Configure Kivy

Where to go ?
We made few games using GPIO / physical input we got during Pycon 2013: a button and a tilt. Checkout the https://github.com/kivy/piki. You will need to adapt the GPIO pin in the code.
A video to see what we were doing with it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVM09gaX6pQ
18
1.1.7 Troubleshooting on OS X
Having trouble installing Kivy on OS X? This page contains issues
Unable to find any valuable Window provider Error
If you get an error like this:
$ python main.py
[INFO
] Kivy v1.8.0-dev
[INFO
] [Logger
] Record log in /Users/audreyr/.kivy/logs/kivy_13-07-07_2.txt
[INFO
] [Factory
] 143 symbols loaded
[DEBUG ] [Cache
] register <kv.lang> with limit=None, timeout=Nones
[DEBUG ] [Cache
] register <kv.image> with limit=None, timeout=60s
[DEBUG ] [Cache
] register <kv.atlas> with limit=None, timeout=Nones
[INFO
] [Image
] Providers: img_imageio, img_tex, img_dds, img_pil, img_gif (img_pygame i
[DEBUG ] [Cache
] register <kv.texture> with limit=1000, timeout=60s
[DEBUG ] [Cache
] register <kv.shader> with limit=1000, timeout=3600s
[DEBUG ] [App
] Loading kv <./pong.kv>
[DEBUG ] [Window
] Ignored <egl_rpi> (import error)
[DEBUG ] [Window
] Ignored <pygame> (import error)
[WARNING] [WinPygame
] SDL wrapper failed to import!
[DEBUG ] [Window
] Ignored <sdl> (import error)
[DEBUG ] [Window
] Ignored <x11> (import error)
[CRITICAL] [Window
] Unable to find any valuable Window provider at all!
[CRITICAL] [App
] Unable to get a Window, abort.
Then most likely Kivy cannot import PyGame for some reason. Continue on to the next section.
Check for Problems with Your PyGame Installation
First, check that you have a working version of PyGame.
Start up the interactive Python interpreter and try to import pygame:
$ python
Python 2.7.3 (v2.7.3:70274d53c1dd, Apr 9 2012, 20:52:43)
[GCC 4.2.1 (Apple Inc. build 5666) (dot 3)] on darwin
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
Python 2.7.3 (v2.7.3:70274d53c1dd, Apr 9 2012, 20:52:43)
Type "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> import pygame
If you can import pygame without problems, then skip to the next section.
But if you get an error, then PyGame is not working as it should.
Heres an example of a PyGame error:
ImportError
Traceback (most recent call last)
<ipython-input-1-4a415d16fbed> in <module>()
----> 1 import pygame
/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/site-packages/pygame/__init__.py
93
94 #first, the "required" modules
---> 95 from pygame.base import *
96 from pygame.constants import *
97 from pygame.version import *
19
ImportError: dlopen(/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/site-packages
Referenced from: /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/site-packages/
Expected in: flat namespace
in /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/site-packages/pygame/base.so
And here is another example of a PyGame error:

ImportError
Traceback (most recent call last)
<ipython-input-1-4a415d16fbed> in <module>()
----> 1 import pygame
/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/site-packages/pygame/__init__.py
93
94 #first, the "required" modules
---> 95 from pygame.base import *
96 from pygame.constants import *
97 from pygame.version import *
ImportError: dlopen(/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/site-packages
/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/site-packages/pygame/base.so:
The easiest way to resolve these PyGame import errors is:

1. Delete the pygame package. (For example, if you get the error above, delete
/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/sitepackages/pygame/ and the accompanying egg.
2. Try installing a PyGame binary for your version of OS X. Download it from
http://www.pygame.org/download.shtml.
3. Repeat this process and try different PyGame OS X binaries until you find one that works.
1.2 Development Version

The development version is for developers and testers. Note that when running a development version,
youre running potentially broken code at your own risk. To use the development version, you will first
need to install the dependencies. Thereafter, you will need to set up Kivy on your computer in a way
that allows for easy development. For that, please see our Contributing document.
1.2.1 Installing Dependencies

To install Kivys dependencies, follow the guide below for your platform.
Ubuntu
For Ubuntu 12.04 and above (tested to 14.04), simply enter the following command that will install all
necessary packages:
$ sudo apt-get install python-setuptools python-pygame python-opengl \
python-gst0.10 python-enchant gstreamer0.10-plugins-good python-dev \
build-essential libgl1-mesa-dev-lts-quantal libgles2-mesa-dev-lts-quantal\
python-pip
For Ubuntu 15.04 and versions older than 12.04, this one should work:
20
$ sudo apt-get install python-setuptools python-pygame python-opengl \

python-gst0.10 python-enchant gstreamer0.10-plugins-good python-dev \
build-essential libgl1-mesa-dev libgles2-mesa-dev zlib1g-dev python-pip
Kivy requires a recent version of Cython, so its better to use the latest supported version from pypi:
$ sudo pip install --upgrade Cython==0.23
OS X
Install the requirements using homebrew:
$ brew install sdl2 sdl2_image sdl2_ttf sdl2_mixer gstreamer
Windows
See Use development Kivy.
1.2.2 Installing Kivy for Development

Now that youve installed all the required dependencies, its time to download and compile a development version of Kivy:
Download Kivy from GitHub:
$ git clone git://github.com/kivy/kivy.git
$ cd kivy
Compile:
$ python setup.py build_ext --inplace -f
If you have the make command available, you can also use the following shortcut to compile (does the
same as the last command):
$ make
Warning: By default, versions 2.7 to 2.7.2 of Python use the gcc compiler which ships with earlier
versions of XCode. As of version 4.2, only the clang compiler is shipped with XCode by default.
This means that if you build using XCode 4.2 or above, you need to ensure you have at least Python
2.7.3 installed, but prefferably the latest version (2.7.5 at the time of writing).
If you want to modify the Kivy code itself, set up the PYTHONPATH environment variable to point
at your clone. This way you dont have to install (setup.py install) after every tiny modification.
Python will instead import Kivy from your clone.
Alternatively, if you dont want to make any changes to Kivy itself, you can also run (as admin, e.g.
with sudo):
$ python setup.py install
If you want to contribute code (patches, new features) to the Kivy code base, please read Contributing.
21
1.2.3 Running the test suite

To help detect issues and behaviour changes in Kivy, a set of unittests are provided. A good thing to
do is to run them just after your Kivy installation, and every time you intend to push a change. If you
think something was broken in Kivy, perhaps a test will show this? If not, it might be a good time to
write one .)
Kivy tests are based on nosetest, which you can install from your package manager or using pip:
$ pip install nose
To run the test suite, do:

$ make test
1.2.4 Uninstalling Kivy

If you are mixing multiple Kivy installations, you might be confused about where each Kivy version is
located. Please note that you might need to follow these steps multiple times if you have multiple Kivy
versions installed in the Python library path. To find your current installed version, you can use the
command line:
$ python -c 'import kivy; print(kivy.__path__)'
Then, remove that directory recursively.

If you have installed Kivy with easy_install on linux, the directory may contain a egg directory. Remove that as well:
$ python -c 'import kivy; print(kivy.__path__)'
['/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/Kivy-1.0.7-py2.7-linux-x86_64.egg/kivy']
$ sudo rm -rf /usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/Kivy-1.0.7-py2.7-linux-x86_64.egg
If you have installed with apt-get, do:

$ sudo apt-get remove --purge python-kivy
22
CHAPTER
TWO
PHILOSOPHY
In case you are wondering what Kivy is all about and what sets it apart from other solutions, this
document is for you.
2.1 Why bother?

Why would you want to use Kivy? After all, there are many great toolkits (or frameworks, or platforms)
available out there for free. You have Qt and Flash, to name just two good choices for application
development. Many of these numerous solutions already support Multi-Touch, so what is it that makes
Kivy special and worth using?
2.1.1 Fresh
Kivy is made for today and tomorrow. Novel input methods such as Multi-Touch have become increasingly important. We created Kivy from scratch, specifically for this kind of interaction. That means we
were able to rethink many things in terms of human computer interaction, whereas older (not to mean
outdated, rather well-established) toolkits carry their legacy, which is often a burden. Were not trying to force this new approach to using a computer into the corset of existing models (say single-pointer
mouse interaction). We want to let it flourish and let you explore the possibilities. This is what really
sets Kivy apart.
2.1.2 Fast
Kivy is fast. This applies to both application development and application execution speeds. We have optimized Kivy in many ways. We implement time-critical functionality on the C level to leverage the
power of existing compilers. More importantly, we also use intelligent algorithms to minimize costly
operations. We also use the GPU wherever it makes sense in our context. The computational power
of todays graphics cards surpasses that of todays CPUs by far for some tasks and algorithms, especially drawing. Thats why we try to let the GPU do as much of the work as possible, thus increasing
performance considerably.
2.1.3 Flexible
Kivy is flexible. This means it can be run on a variety of different devices, including Android powered
smartphones and tablets. We support all major operating systems (Windows, Linux, OS X). Being flexible
also means that Kivys fast-paced development allows it to adapt to new technologies quickly. More than
once have we added support for new external devices and software protocols, sometimes even before
they were released. Lastly, Kivy is also flexible in that it is possible to use it in combination with a great
number of different third-party solutions. For example, on Windows we support WM_TOUCH, which
23
means that any device that has Windows 7 Pen & Touch drivers will just work with Kivy. On OS X
you can use Apples Multi-Touch capable devices, such as trackpads and mice. On Linux, you can use
HID kernel input events. In addition to that, we support TUIO (Tangible User Interface Objects) and a
number of other input sources.
2.1.4 Focused
Kivy is focused. You can write a simple application with a few lines of code. Kivy programs are created
using the Python programming language, which is incredibly versatile and powerful, yet easy to use. In
addition, we created our own description language, the Kivy Language, for creating sophisticated user
interfaces. This language allows you to set up, connect and arrange your application elements quickly.
We feel that allowing you to focus on the essence of your application is more important than forcing
you to fiddle with compiler settings. We took that burden off your shoulders.
2.1.5 Funded
Kivy is actively developed by professionals in their field. Kivy is a community-influenced, professionally developed and commercially backed solution. Some of our core developers develop Kivy for a
living. Kivy is here to stay. Its not a small, vanishing student project.
2.1.6 Free
Kivy is free to use. You dont have to pay for it. You dont even have to pay for it if youre making
money out of selling an application that uses Kivy.
24
CHAPTER
THREE
CONTRIBUTING
There are many ways in which you can contribute to Kivy. Code patches are just one thing amongst
others that you can submit to help the project. We also welcome feedback, bug reports, feature requests,
documentation improvements, advertisement & advocating, testing, graphics contributions and many
other ideas. Just talk to us if you want to help, and we will help you help us.
3.1 Feedback
This is by far the easiest way to contribute something. If youre using Kivy for your own project,
dont hesitate sharing. It doesnt have to be a high-class enterprise app, obviously. Its just incredibly
motivating to know that people use the things you develop and what it enables them to do. If you have
something that you would like to tell us, please dont hesitate. Screenshots and videos are also very
welcome! Were also interested in the problems you had when getting started. Please feel encouraged to
report any obstacles you encountered such as missing documentation, misleading directions or similar.
We are perfectionists, so even if its just a typo, let us know.
3.2 Reporting an Issue

If you found anything wrong, a crash, segfault, missing documentation, invalid spelling or just weird
examples, please take 2 minutes to report the issue.
1. Move your logging level to debug by editing <user_directory>/.kivy/config.ini:
[kivy]
log_level = debug
2. Execute your code again, and copy/paste the complete output to http://gist.github.com/, including the log from Kivy and the python backtrace.
3. Open https://github.com/kivy/kivy/issues/
4. Set the title of your issue
5. Explain exactly what to do to reproduce the issue and paste the link of the output posted on
http://gist.github.com/
6. Validate the issue and youre done!
If you are feeling up to it, you can also try to resolve the bug, and contribute by sending us the patch :)
Read the next section to find out how to do this.
25
3.3 Code Contributions

Code contributions (patches, new features) are the most obvious way to help with the projects development. Since this is so common we ask you to follow our workflow to most efficiently work with us.
Adhering to our workflow ensures that your contribution wont be forgotten or lost. Also, your name
will always be associated with the change you made, which basically means eternal fame in our code
history (you can opt-out if you dont want that).
3.3.1 Coding style

If you havent done it yet, read the PEP8 about coding style in python.
Activate the pep8 check on git commits like this:
make hook
This will pass the code added to the git staging zone (about to be committed) through a pep8 checker
program when you do a commit, and ensure that you didnt introduce pep8 errors. If you did, the
commit will be rejected: please correct the errors and try again.
3.3.2 Performance
take care of performance issues: read Python performance tips
cpu intensive parts of Kivy are written in cython: if you are doing a lot of computation, consider
using it too.
3.3.3 Git & GitHub

We use git as our version control system for our code base. If you have never used git or a similar
DVCS (or even any VCS) before, we strongly suggest you take a look at the great documentation that
is available for git online. The Git Community Book or the Git Videos are both great ways to learn git.
Trust us when we say that git is a great tool. It may seem daunting at first, but after a while youll
(hopefully) love it as much as we do. Teaching you git, however, is well beyond the scope of this
document.
Also, we use GitHub to host our code. In the following we will assume that you have a (free) GitHub
account. While this part is optional, it allows for a tight integration between your patches and our
upstream code base. If you dont want to use GitHub, we assume you know what you are doing
anyway.
3.3.4 Code Workflow

So here is the initial setup to begin with our workflow (you only need to do this once to install Kivy).
Basically you follow the installation instructions from Installing Kivy for Development, but you dont
clone our repository, you fork it. Here are the steps:
1. Log in to GitHub
2. Create a fork of the Kivy repository by clicking the fork button.
3. Clone your fork of our repository to your computer. Your fork will have the git remote name
origin and you will be on branch master:
git clone https://github.com/username/kivy.git
26
4. Compile and set up PYTHONPATH or install (see Installing Kivy for Development).
5. Install our pre-commit hook that ensures your code doesnt violate our styleguide by executing
make hook from the root directory of your clone. This will run our styleguide check whenever
you do a commit, and if there are violations in the parts that you changed, your commit will be
aborted. Fix & retry.
6. Add the kivy repo as a remote source:
git remote add kivy https://github.com/kivy/kivy.git
Now, whenever you want to create a patch, you follow the following steps:
1. See if there is a ticket in our bug tracker for the fix or feature and announce that youll
be working on it if it doesnt yet have an assignee.
2. Create a new, appropriately named branch in your local repository for that specific
feature or bugfix. (Keeping a new branch per feature makes sure we can easily pull in
your changes without pulling any other stuff that is not supposed to be pulled.):
git checkout -b new_feature
3. Modify the code to do what you want (e.g., fix it).

4. Test the code. Try to do this even for small fixes. You never know whether you have
introduced some weird bug without testing.
5. Do one or more minimal, atomic commits per fix or per feature. Minimal/Atomic
means keep the commit clean. Dont commit other stuff that doesnt logically belong to
this fix or feature. This is not about creating one commit per line changed. Use git
add -p if necessary.
6. Give each commit an appropriate commit message, so that others who are not familiar
with the matter get a good idea of what you changed.
7. Once you are satisfied with your changes, pull our upstream repository and merge it
with you local repository. We can pull your stuff, but since you know exactly whats
changed, you should do the merge:
git pull kivy master
8. Push your local branch into your remote repository on GitHub:

git push origin new_feature
9. Send a Pull Request with a description of what you changed via the button in the GitHub
interface of your repository. (This is why we forked initially. Your repository is linked
against ours.)
Warning: If you change parts of the code base that require compilation, you will have
to recompile in order for your changes to take effect. The make command will do that
for you (see the Makefile if you want to know what it does). If you need to clean your
current directory from compiled files, execute make clean. If you want to get rid of all
files that are not under version control, run make distclean (Caution: If your changes
are not under version control, this command will delete them!)
Now we will receive your pull request. We will check whether your changes are clean and make sense
(if you talked to us before doing all of this we will have told you whether it makes sense or not). If so,
we will pull them and you will get instant karma. Congratulations, youre a hero!
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3.4 Documentation Contributions

Documentation contributions generally follow the same workflow as code contributions, but are just a
bit more lax.
1. Following the instructions above,
(a) Fork the repository.
(b) Clone your fork to your computer.
(c) Setup kivy repo as a remote source.
2. Install python-sphinx. (See docs/README for assistance.)
3. Use ReStructuredText_Markup to make changes to the HTML documentation in docs/sources.
To submit a documentation update, use the following steps:
1. Create a new, appropriately named branch in your local repository:
git checkout -b my_docs_update
2. Modify the documentation with your correction or improvement.

3. Re-generate the HTML pages, and review your update:
make html
4. Give each commit an appropriate commit message, so that others who are not familiar with the
matter get a good idea of what you changed.
5. Keep each commit focused on a single related theme. Dont commit other stuff that doesnt logically belong to this update.
6. Push to your remote repository on GitHub:
git push
7. Send a Pull Request with a description of what you changed via the button in the GitHub interface
of your repository.
We dont ask you to go through all the hassle just to correct a single typo, but for more complex contributions, please follow the suggested workflow.
3.4.1 Docstrings
Every module/class/method/function needs a docstring, so use the following keywords when relevant:
..
versionadded:: to mark the version in which the feature was added.
.. versionchanged:: to mark the version in which the behaviour of the feature was
changed.
..
note:: to add additional info about how to use the feature or related feature.
..
warning:: to indicate a potential issue the user might run into using the feature.
Examples:
def my_new_feature(self, arg):
"""
New feature is awesome
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.. versionadded:: 1.1.4
.. note:: This new feature will likely blow your mind
.. warning:: Please take a seat before trying this feature
"""
Will result in:

def my_new_feature(self, arg): New feature is awesome
New in version 1.1.4.
Note: This new feature will likely blow your mind
Warning: Please take a seat before trying this feature
When refering to other parts of the api use:

:mod:~kivy.module to refer to a module
:class:~kivy.module.Class to refer to a class
:meth:~kivy.module.Class.method to refer to a method
:doc:api-kivy.module to refer to the documentation of a module (same for a class and a
method)
Obviously replacing module Class and method with their real name, and using using . to separate
modules refering to imbricated modules, e.g:
:mod:`~kivy.uix.floatlayout`
:class:`~kivy.uix.floatlayout.FloatLayout`
:meth:`~kivy.core.window.WindowBase.toggle_fullscreen`
:doc:`/api-kivy.core.window`
Will result in:

floatlayout FloatLayout toggle_fullscreen() Window
:doc: and :mod: are essentially the same, except for an anchor in the url which makes :doc: prefered for
the cleaner url.
To build your documentation, run:
make html
If you updated your kivy install, and have some trouble compiling docs, run:
make clean force html
The docs will be generated in docs/build/html. For more information on docstring formatting,
please refer to the official Sphinx Documentation.
3.5 Unit tests contributions

For the testing team, we have the document Unit tests that explains how Kivy unit tests work and how
you can create your own. Use the same approach as the Code Workflow to submit new tests.
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3.5.1 Unit tests

Tests are located in the kivy/tests folder. If you find a bug in Kivy, a good thing to do can be to write a
minimal case showing the issue and to ask core devs if the behaviour shown is intended or a real bug.
If you write your code as a unittest , it will prevent the bug from coming back unnoticed in the future,
and will make Kivy a better, stronger project. Writing a unittest may be a really good way to get familiar
with Kivy while doing something useful.
Unit tests are seperated into two cases:
Non graphical unit tests: theses are standard unit tests that can run in a console
Graphical unit tests: theses need a GL context, and work via image comparison
To be able to run unit tests, you need to install nose (http://code.google.com/p/python-nose/), and
coverage (http://nedbatchelder.com/code/coverage/). You can use easy_install for that:
sudo easy_install nose coverage
Then, in the kivy directory:

make test
How it works
All the tests are located in kivy/tests, and the filename starts with test_<name>.py. Nose will automatically gather all the files and classes inside this folder, and use them to generate test cases.
To write a test, create a file that respects the previous naming, then start with this template:
import unittest
class XXXTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
def setUp(self):
# import class and prepare everything here.
pass
def test_YYY(self):
# place your test case here
a = 1
self.assertEqual(a, 1)
Replace XXX with an appropriate name that covers your tests cases, then replace YYY with the name
of your test. If you have any doubts, check how the other tests have been written.
Then, to execute them, just run:
make test
If you want to execute that file only, you can run:

nosetests kivy/tests/test_yourtestcase.py
GL unit tests
GL unit test are more difficult. You must know that even if OpenGL is a standard, the output/rendering
is not. It depends on your GPU and the driver used. For these tests, the goal is to save the output of the
rendering at frame X, and compare it to a reference image.
Currently, images are generated at 320x240 pixels, in png format.
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Note: Currently, image comparison is done per-pixel. This means the reference image that you generate
will only be correct for your GPU/driver. If somebody can implement image comparison with delta
support, patches are welcome :)
To execute GL unit tests, you need to create a directory:
mkdir kivy/tests/results
make test
The results directory will contain all the reference images and the generated images. After the first
execution, if the results directory is empty, no comparison will be done. It will use the generated images
as reference. After the second execution, all the images will be compared to the reference images.
A html file is available to show the comparison before/after the test, and a snippet of the associated
unit test. It will be generated at:
kivy/tests/build/index.html
Note: The build directory is cleaned after each call to make test. If you dont want that, just use nosetests
command.
Writing GL Unit tests

The idea is to create a root widget, as you would do in build(), or in kivy.base.runTouchApp().
Youll give that root widget to a rendering function which will capture the output in X frames.
Here is an example:
from common import GraphicUnitTest
class VertexInstructionTestCase(GraphicUnitTest):
def test_ellipse(self):
from kivy.uix.widget import Widget
from kivy.graphics import Ellipse, Color
r = self.render
# create a root widget
wid = Widget()
# put some graphics instruction on it
with wid.canvas:
Color(1, 1, 1)
self.e = Ellipse(pos=(100, 100), size=(200, 100))
# render, and capture it directly
r(wid)
# as alternative, you can capture in 2 frames:
r(wid, 2)
# or in 10 frames
r(wid, 10)
Each call to self.render (or r in our example) will generate an image named as follows:
<classname>_<funcname>-<r-call-count>.png
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r-call-count represents the number of times that self.render is called inside the test function.
The reference images are named:
ref_<classname>_<funcname>-<r-call-count>.png
You can easily replace the reference image with a new one if you wish.
Coverage reports
Coverage is based on the execution of previous tests. Statistics on code coverage are automatically
calculated during execution. You can generate an html report of the coverage with the command:
make cover
Then, open kivy/htmlcov/index.html with your favorite web browser.
3.6 GSOC
3.6.1 Google Summer of Code - 2015
Introduction
Kivy is a cross-platform, business friendly, GPU Accelerated open source Python library for rapid development of applications that make use of innovative user interfaces, such as multi-touch apps.
The Kivy Organization oversees several major projects:
The Kivy GUI Library
The Python-For-Android compilation tool.
The Kivy-iOS compilation tool.
The PyJNIus library for interfacing with Java from Python.
The PyOBJus library for interfacing with Objective-C from Python.
The Plyer platform-independent Python wrapper for platform dependent APIs.
Buildozer - A generic Python packager for Android, iOS, and desktop.
Altogether, these projects allow the user to create applications for every major operating system that
make use of any native APIs present. Our goal is to enable development of Python applications that
run everywhere off the same codebase and make use of platform dependent APIs and features that
users of specific operating systems have come to expect.
Depending on which project you choose you may need to know Cython, OpenGL ES2, Java, ObjectiveC, or C in addition to python. We make heavy use of Cython and OpenGL for computational and
graphics performance where it matters, and the other languages are typically involved in accesses OS
or provider level APIs.
We are hoping to participate in Google Summer of Code 2015. This page showcases some ideas for
GSoC projects and corresponding guidelines for students contributing to the Kivy Framework.
Requirements
It is assumed that the incoming student meets some basic requirements as highlighted here:
Intermediate level familiarity with Python.
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Comfortable with git and github (Kivy and its sister projects are all managed on github) If you
have never used github before you may be interested in this tutorial.
Comfortable with event driven programming.
Has suitable tools/environment for kivy or the sister project you are going to work on. For example to be able to work on PyOBJus you would need access to an iOS device, mac with xcode and a
developer license, to work on PyJNIus you would need an Android device, and to work on plyer
you would need access to hardware for both platforms.
Additional desired skills may be listed with specific projects.
Familiarize yourself with the contributing guide We can help you get up to speed, however students
demonstrating ability in advance will be given preference.
How to get setup
For Kivy, the easiest way is to follow the installation instructions for the development version for your
specific platform:
http://kivy.org/docs/installation/installation.html#development-version
For the rest its usually sufficient to install the relevant project from git and add it to your PYTHONPATH.
eg.. for PyJNIus:
git clone http://github.com/kivy/pyjnius
export PYTHONPATH=/path/to/pyjnius:$PYTHONPATH
Project Ideas
Here are some prospective ideas sourced from the Kivy development team, if none of these projects
interest you come talk to us in #kivy-dev about a project idea of your own.
Beginner Projects
These projects should be suitable for anyone with a college level familiarity with Python and require
little knowedge of platform specifics.
Kivy Designer
Description: Kivy Designer is a GUI tool for creating Kivy GUI layouts written in Kivy.
You can compose, customize, and test widgets using the tool. This project has been the
subject of 2 previous GSoC and is experimental, alpha level software at the moment.
However, it is a very popular request for more updates among our users; if you are
interested in GUI tool development this could be a great fit for you!
The Student will:
Integrate Buildozer, which is our build tool for deploying to different target OS, within
the kivy-designer.
Interface for using hanga.io (Remote Buildozer server) as a deployment target.
Better File management for project files. Browser Pane.
Interface to test using different screen modules, for emulating interface on different
screen sizes.
Interface to Select different targets, simulator or actual device if connected to deploy to.
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Add mobile specific UI fixes(mostly making sure UI looks and feels the same on tablets
as on desktops)
Work on stability fixes.
References:
https://github.com/kivy/kivy-designer
http://github.com/kivy/buildozer
http://hanga.io
Expected outcome: It is expected that the student completes all the features mentioned
above, except stability fixes which is dependent on however much time is left after
completing the rest of the features.
Mentors: Akshay Arora, Ryan Pessa
Requirements: Access to Linux, Windows, or OS X
Task level: Easy
Desired Skills: Experience with other GUI creation tools. Familiar with Kivy approach
to EventLoop and UIX Widgets.
Matplotlib Integration
Description: More advanced graphing and plotting tools are a frequently requested addition to Kivy, and it would be ideal to provide them via integration with matplotlibs
extensive feature set. The primary goal of the project would be to write a Kivy backend to matplotlib that displays plots using Kivys own graphics API, but it would also
potentially involve ensuring that matplotlib is deployable on every platform Kivy supports.
References:
http://matplotlib.org/
https://github.com/kivy/kivy
Expected outcome: The matplotlib widgets will be included in the Kivy garden and ready
to use on all of Kivys supported OS.
Mentors: Alexander Taylor, Matthew Einhorn, Jacob Kovac
Requirements: Access to Desktop OS and ideally at least one mobile platform
Task level: Easy
Desired Skills: Familiarity with Kivy widget construction and matplotlib.
Intermediate Projects
These projects will involve more than just pure Python coding. You may find yourself either dealing
with the details of cross platform compilation or working with communicating between Python and an
API in a different language.
Plyer:
Description: Plyer is a platform-independant Python API to use features commonly found
on the desktop and mobile platforms supported by Kivy. The idea is to provide a stable
API to the user for accessing features of their desktop or mobile device.
The student would replace some .java code currently in the Kivy project to a more
appropriate place in Plyer. In addition, the student would work on improving access
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to platform specific features through Plyer, including accessibility, Bluetooth, Bluetooth

Low Energy, recording and previewing the video camera, accessing contacts, recording
audio, and utilizing speech recognition.
Under the hood youll use PyJNIus on Android, PyOBJus on OS X and iOS, ctypes
on Windows, and native APIs on Linux. This probably would also include improving
PyObjus and PyJNIus to handle interfaces that they cant right now.
References:
https://github.com/kivy/plyer
https://github.com/kivy/pyjnius
https://github.com/kivy/pyobjus
https://github.com/kivy/python-for-android
https://github.com/kivy/kivy-ios
Expected outcome: A successful outcome would include moving the Kivy Java code to
plyer and implementation of some or all of the new facades to be decided with the
student.
Mentors: Gabriel Pettier, Sebastian Popute
Requirements: Access to Linux, Windows, OS X, iOS device, Android device.
Task level: Intermediate
Desired Skills: Familiarity with Pyjnius, PyOBJus.
Font Reshaping and Font Fallback Support
Description: Currently Kivy does not support reshaping for alphabets such as Arabic, Persian, Thai, or Devanagari. The solution is to integrate a text shaping engine- Harfbuzz.
You would need to ensure that we can compile Harfbuzz on every platform and properly integrate it as a core text provider.
The second part of the same project would involve font fallback support. If a particular
character/glyph is missing; currently we show a [] box. The solution for this would
involve either using an OS API if available or maintaining a hashtable for the default
fonts on each OS which can be used for glyph fallback.
References:
http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/HarfBuzz/
https://github.com/kivy/kivy/tree/master/kivy/core/text
Expected outcome: Font fallback and text reshaping support Kivy and correct compilation
recipes for the libs used (harfbuzz) for platforms that need it, such as Python-ForAndroid.
Mentors: Akshay Arora, Jacob Kovac
Requirements: Access to Desktop OS and ideally at least one mobile platform
Task level: Intermediate
Desired Skills: Familiarity with text rendering, HarfBuzz, and Kivys provider abstraction.
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Hard Projects
These projects may involve very in-depth knowledge of Kivys existing internals, the hairy details of
cross-platform compilation, or other fairly advanced topics. If you are comfortable with the internals
of Python, working with C code, and using Cython to build your own C extensions these projects may
appeal to you.
Python-For-Android Revamp:
Description: Currently Python-For-Android is not very flexible and have a very specific
bootstrap crafted for use with Kivys old SDL1.2/1.3 backend used through Pygame
and functions only with Python2. Your job would be to make the necessary changes
to expose swappable bootstraps, python interpreters, and the appropriate compilation
options for ARM and x86 Android. This project will involve a significant amount of
refactoring the current tool, as much hardcoded functionality needs to be made optional. A student looking to take on this task should be familiar with compiling Python,
the compilation process for Cython modules, and the Android SDK and NDK.
The Student will:
Introduce bootstrap argument for the distribute script
Introduce a new SDL2 bootstrap
Refactor old bootstrap to use new approach
Refactor pyjnius to find the appropriate Activity from the provided bootstrap
Introduce option for compilation with Python3 instead of Python2, this will involve
properly configuring the blacklist of ommitted modules, the collection of libs into one
large one to avoid shared library limit on older devices, and performing any Python3
code conversions necessary.
Ensure all recipes work with Python3 version of their modules
Introduce option for compiling for different architectures (ARM and x86)
References:
https://github.com/kivy/python-for-android
Expected outcome: Python-for-Android with more options for compilation including
Python2 and Python3, legacy Pygame bootstrap, SDL2 bootstrap, and ARM and x86
compilation options.
Mentors: Mathieu Virbel, Jacob Kovac
Requirements: Access to Linux, Android.
Task level: Hard
Desired Skills: Understanding of cross-compilation for Android, familiarity with
PyJNIus
How to Contact devs
Ask your questions on the Kivy users forums http://kivy.org/#forum
Or send a mail at [email protected]
Make sure to Join kivy-dev user group too @ https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/kivy-dev
You can also try to contact us on IRC (online chat), to get the irc handles of the devs mentioned above
visit http://kivy.org/#aboutus
36
Make sure to read the IRC rules before connecting. Connect to webchat
Most of our developers are located in Europe, India, and North America so keep in mind typical waking
hours for these areas.
How to be a good student
If you want to participate as a student and want to maximize your chances of being accepted, start
talking to us today and try fixing some smaller problems to get used to our workflow. If we know you
can work well with us, you will have much better chances of being selected.
Heres a checklist:
Make sure to read through the website and at least skim the documentation.
Look at the source code.
Read our contribution guidelines.
Make a contribution! Kivy would like to see how you engage with the development process. Take
a look at the issue tracker for a Kivy project that interest you and submit a Pull Request. It can
be a simple bug or a documentation change. We are looking to get a feel for how you work, not
evaluating your capabilities. Dont worry about trying to pick something to impress us.
Pick an idea that you think is interesting from the ideas list or come up with your own idea.
Do some research yourself. GSoC is about give and take, not just one sided interaction. It is about
you trying to achieve agreed upon goals with our support. The main driving force in this should
be, obviously, yourself. Many students pop up and ask what they should do. You shoud base that
decision on your interests and your skills. Show us youre serious about it and take the initiative.
Write a draft proposal about what you want to do. Include what you understand the current state
of the project to be, what you would like to improve, how, etc.
Discuss that proposal with us in a timely manner. Get feedback.
Be patient! Especially on IRC. We will try to get to you if were available. If not, send an email
and just wait. Most questions are already answered in the docs or somewhere else and can be
found with some research. Your questions should reflect that youve actually thought through
what youre asking and done some rudimentary research.
Most of all dont forget to have fun and interact with the community. The community is as big a
part of Open Source as the code itself.
What to expect if you are chosen
All students should join the #kivy and the #kivy-dev irc channels daily, this is how the development team communicates both internally and with the users.
You and your mentors will agree on two week milestones for the duration of the summer.
Development will occur in your fork of the master branch of Kivy, we expect you to submit at
least one PR a week from your branch into a branch reserved for you in the primary repo. This
will be your forum for reporting progress as well as documenting any struggles you may have
encountered.
Missing 2 weekly PR or 2 milestones will result in your failure unless there have been extenuating
circumstances. If something comes up, please inform your mentors as soon as possible. If a
milestone seems out of reach we will work with you to reevaluate the goals.
Your changes will be merged into master once the project has been completed and we have thoroughly tested on every platform that is relevant!
37
38
CHAPTER
FOUR
FAQ
There are a number of questions that repeatedly need to be answered. The following document tries to
answer some of them.
4.1 Technical FAQ

4.1.1 Fatal Python error: (pygame parachute) Segmentation Fault
Most of time, this issue is due to the usage of old graphics drivers. Install the latest graphics driver
available for your graphics card, and it should be ok.
If not, this means you have probably triggered some OpenGL code without an available OpenGL context. If you are loading images, atlases, using graphics instructions, you must spawn a Window first:
# method 1 (preferred)
from kivy.base import EventLoop
EventLoop.ensure_window()
# method 2
from kivy.core.window import Window
If not, please report a detailed issue on github by following the instructions in the Reporting an Issue
section of the Contributing documentation. This is very important for us because that kind of error can
be very hard to debug. Give us all the information you can give about your environment and execution.
4.1.2 undefined symbol: glGenerateMipmap

You graphics card or its drivers might be too old. Update your graphics drivers to the latest available
version and retry.
4.1.3 ImportError: No module named event

If you use Kivy from our development version, you must compile it before using it. In the kivy directory,
do:
make force
39
4.2 Android FAQ

4.2.1 could not extract public data
This error message can occur under various circumstances. Ensure that:
you have a phone with an sdcard
you are not currently in USB Mass Storage mode
you have permissions to write to the sdcard
In the case of the USB Mass Storage mode error, and if you dont want to keep unplugging the device,
set the usb option to Power.
4.2.2 Crash on touch interaction on Android 2.3.x

There have been reports of crashes on Adreno 200/205 based devices. Apps otherwise run fine but
crash when interacted with/through the screen.
These reports also mentioned the issue being resolved when moving to an ICS or higher rom.
4.2.3 Is it possible to have a kiosk app on android 3.0 ?

Thomas Hansen have wrote a detailed answer on the kivy-users mailing list:
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/kivy-users/QKoCekAR1c0/yV-85Y_iAwoJ
Basically, you need to root the device, remove the SystemUI package, add some lines to the xml configuration, and youre done.
4.2.4 Whats the difference between python-for-android from Kivy and SL4A?
Despite having the same name, Kivys python-for-android is not related to the python-for-android
project from SL4A, Py4A, or android-python27. They are distinctly different projects with different
goals. You may be able to use Py4A with Kivy, but no code or effort has been made to do so. The
Kivy team feels that our python-for-android is the best solution for us going forward, and attempts to
integrate with and support Py4A is not a good use of our time.
4.3 Project FAQ

4.3.1 Why do you use Python? Isnt it slow?
Let us try to give a thorough answer; please bear with us.
Python is a very agile language that allows you to do many things in a (by comparison) short time.
For many development scenarios, we strongly prefer writing our application quickly in a high-level
language such as Python, testing it, then optionally optimizing it.
But what about speed? If you compare execution speeds of implementations for a certain set of algorithms (esp. number crunching) you will find that Python is a lot slower than say, C++. Now you may
be even more convinced that its not a good idea in our case to use Python. Drawing sophisticated
graphics (and we are not talking about your grandmothers OpenGL here) is computationally quite expensive and given that we often want to do that for rich user experiences, that would be a fair argument.
But, in virtually every case your application ends up spending most of the time (by far) executing the
40
same part of the code. In Kivy, for example, these parts are event dispatching and graphics drawing.
Now Python allows you to do something to make these parts much faster.
By using Cython, you can compile your code down to the C level, and from there your usual C compiler optimizes things. This is a pretty pain free process and if you add some hints to your code, the
result becomes even faster. We are talking about a speed up in performance by a factor of anything
between 1x and up to more than 1000x (greatly depends on your code). In Kivy, we did this for you and
implemented the portions of our code, where efficiency really is critical, on the C level.
For graphics drawing, we also leverage todays GPUs which are, for some tasks such as graphics rasterization, much more efficent than a CPU. Kivy does as much as is reasonable on the GPU to maximize
performance. If you use our Canvas API to do the drawing, there is even a compiler that we invented
which optimizes your drawing code automatically. If you keep your drawing mostly on the GPU, much
of your programs execution speed is not determined by the programming language used, but by the
graphics hardware you throw at it.
We believe that these (and other) optimizations that Kivy does for you already make most applications
fast enough by far. Often you will even want to limit the speed of the application in order not to waste
resources. But even if this is not sufficient, you still have the option of using Cython for your own code
to greatly speed it up.
Trust us when we say that we have given this very careful thought. We have performed many different
benchmarks and come up with some clever optimizations to make your application run smoothly.
4.3.2 Does Kivy support Python 3.x?

Yes! As of version 1.8.0 Kivy supports both Python >= 2.7 and Python >= 3.3 with the same codebase.
However, be aware that while Kivy will run in Python 3.3+, packaging support is not yet complete. If
you plan to create mobile apps for Android or iOS, you should use Python 2.7 for now.
4.3.3 Ive already started with Python 3.x! Is there anything I can do?
Be patient. Were working on it. :)
If you cant wait, you could try using the 3to2 tool, which converts valid Python 3 syntax to Python 2.
However, be warned that this tool does not work for all Python 3 code.
4.3.4 How is Kivy related to PyMT?

Our developers are professionals and are pretty savvy in their area of expertise. However, before Kivy
came around there was (and still is) a project named PyMT that was led by our core developers. We
learned a great deal from that project during the time that we developed it. In the more than two
years of research and development we found many interesting ways to improve the design of our
framework. We have performed numerous benchmarks and as it turns out, to achieve the great speed
and flexibility that Kivy has, we had to rewrite quite a big portion of the codebase, making this a
backwards-incompatible but future-proof decision. Most notable are the performance increases, which
are just incredible. Kivy starts and operates just so much faster, due to these heavy optimizations. We
also had the opportunity to work with businesses and associations using PyMT. We were able to test
our product on a large diversity of setups and made PyMT work on all of them. Writing a system such
as Kivy or PyMT is one thing. Making it work under all these different conditions is another. We have
a good background here, and brought our knowledge to Kivy.
Furthermore, since some of our core developers decided to drop their full-time jobs and turn to this
project completely, it was decided that a more professional foundation had to be laid. Kivy is that
foundation. It is supposed to be a stable and professional product. Technically, Kivy is not really
a successor to PyMT because there is no easy migration path between them. However, the goal is
41
the same: Producing high-quality applications for novel user interfaces. This is why we encourage
everyone to base new projects on Kivy instead of PyMT. Active development of PyMT has stalled.
Maintenance patches are still accepted.
4.3.5 Do you accept patches?

Yes, we love patches. In order to ensure a smooth integration of your precious changes however, please
make sure to read our contribution guidelines. Obviously we dont accept every patch. Your patch has
to be consistent with our styleguide and, more importantly, make sense. It does make sense to talk to
us before you come up with bigger changes, especially new features.
4.3.6 Does the Kivy project participate in Googles Summer of Code ?

Potential students ask whether we participate in GSoC. The clear answer is: Indeed. :-)
If you want to participate as a student and want to maximize your chances of being accepted, start
talking to us today and try fixing some smaller (or larger, if you can ;-) problems to get used to our
workflow. If we know you can work well with us, thatd be a big plus.
Heres a checklist:
Make sure to read through the website and at least skim the documentation.
Look at the source code.
Read our contribution guidelines.
Pick an idea that you think is interesting from the ideas list (see link above) or come up with your
own idea.
Do some research yourself. GSoC is not about us teaching you something and you getting paid
for that. It is about you trying to achieve agreed upon goals by yourself with our support. The
main driving force in this should be, obviously, yourself. Many students come up and ask what
they should do. Well, we dont know because we know neither your interests nor your skills.
Show us youre serious about it and take initiative.
Write a draft proposal about what you want to do. Include what you understand the current state
is (very roughly), what you would like to improve and how, etc.
Discuss that proposal with us in a timely manner. Get feedback.
Be patient! Especially on IRC. We will try to get to you if were available. If not, send an email
and just wait. Most questions are already answered in the docs or somewhere else and can be
found with some research. If your questions dont reflect that youve actually thought through
what youre asking, it might not be well received.
Good luck! :-)
42
CHAPTER
FIVE
CONTACT US
You can contact us in several different ways:
5.1 Issue Tracker

If you have found an issue with the code or have a feature request, please see our issue tracker. If there
is no issue yet that matches your inquiry, feel free to create a new one. Please make sure you receive the
mails that github sends if we comment on the issue in case we need more information. For bugs, please
provide all the information necessary, like the operating system youre using, the full error message or
any other logs, a description of what you did to trigger the bug and what the actual bug was, as well
as anything else that might be of interest. Obviously, we can only help if you tell us precisely what the
actual problem is.
5.2 Mail
For users of our framework, there is a mailing list for support inquiries on the kivy-users Google Group.
Use this list if you have issues with your Kivy-based app. We also have a mailing list for matters that
deal with development of the actual Kivy framework code on the kivy-dev Google Group.
5.3 IRC
#Kivy on irc.freenode.net
IRC is great for real-time communication, but please make sure to wait after you asked your question.
If you just join, ask and quit we have no way of knowing who you were and where were supposed to
send our answer. Also, keep in mind were mostly based in Europe, so take into account any timezone
issues. If youre unlucky more than once, try the mailing list.
If you dont have an IRC client, you can also use Freenodes web chat, but please, dont close the browser
window too soon. Just enter #kivy in the channels field.
Please read our Community Guidelines before asking for help on the mailing list or IRC channel.
43
44
Part II
PROGRAMMING GUIDE
45
46
CHAPTER
SIX
KIVY BASICS
6.1 Installation of the Kivy environment
Kivy depends on many Python libraries, such as pygame, gstreamer, PIL, Cairo, and more. They are
not all required, but depending on the platform youre working on, they can be a pain to install. For
Windows and MacOS X, we provide a portable package that you can just unzip and use.
Installation on Windows
Installation on OS X
Installation on Linux
If you want to install everything yourself, ensure that you have at least Cython and Pygame. A typical
pip installation looks like this:
pip install cython
pip install hg+http://bitbucket.org/pygame/pygame
pip install kivy
The development version can be installed with git:

make
6.2 Create an application

Creating a kivy application is as simple as:
sub-classing the App class
implementing its build() method so it returns a Widget instance (the root of your widget tree)
instantiating this class, and calling its run() method.
Here is an example of a minimal application:
import kivy
kivy.require('1.0.6') # replace with your current kivy version !
from kivy.app import App
from kivy.uix.label import Label
class MyApp(App):
47
def build(self):
return Label(text='Hello world')
if __name__ == '__main__':
MyApp().run()
You can save this to a text file, main.py for example, and run it.
6.3 Kivy App Life Cycle

First off, lets get familiar with the Kivy app life cycle.
As you can see above, for all intents and purposes, our entry point into our App is the run() method,
and in our case that is MyApp().run(). We will get back to this, but lets start from the third line:
Its required that the base Class of your App inherits from the App class.
kivy_installation_dir/kivy/app.py.
Its present in the
Note: Go ahead and open up that file if you want to delve deeper into what the Kivy App class does.
We encourage you to open the code and read through it. Kivy is based on Python and uses Sphinx for
documentation, so the documentation for each class is in the actual file.
Similarly on line 2:
48
One important thing to note here is the way packages/classes are laid out. The uix module is the
section that holds the user interface elements like layouts and widgets.
Moving on to line 5:
class MyApp(App):
This is where we are defining the Base Class of our Kivy App. You should only ever need to change the
name of your app MyApp in this line.
Further on to line 7:
def build(self):
As highlighted by the image above, show casing the Kivy App Life Cycle, this is the function where you
should initialize and return your Root Widget. This is what we do on line 8:
return Label(text='Hello world')
Here we initialize a Label with text Hello World and return its instance. This Label will be the Root
Widget of this App.
Note: Python uses indentation to denote code blocks, therefore take note that in the code provided
above, at line 9 the class and function definition ends.
Now on to the portion that will make our app run at line 11 and 12:
if __name__ == '__main__':
MyApp().run()
Here the class MyApp is initialized and its run() method called. This initializes and starts our Kivy
application.
6.4 Running the application

To run the application, follow the instructions for your operating system:
Linux Follow the instructions for running a Kivy application on Linux:
$ python main.py
Windows Follow the instructions for running a Kivy application on Windows:

$ python main.py
# or
C:\appdir>kivy.bat main.py
Mac OS X Follow the instructions for running a Kivy application on OS X:

$ kivy main.py
Android Your application needs some complementary files to be able to run on Android.
See Create a package for Android for further reference.
A window should open, showing a single Label (with the Text Hello World) that covers the entire
windows area. Thats all there is to it.
49
6.5 Customize the application

Lets extend this application a bit, say a simple UserName/Password page.
from
from
from
from
kivy.app import App

kivy.uix.gridlayout import GridLayout
kivy.uix.label import Label
kivy.uix.textinput import TextInput
class LoginScreen(GridLayout):
def __init__(self, **kwargs):
super(LoginScreen, self).__init__(**kwargs)
self.cols = 2
self.add_widget(Label(text='User Name'))
self.username = TextInput(multiline=False)
self.add_widget(self.username)
self.add_widget(Label(text='password'))
self.password = TextInput(password=True, multiline=False)
self.add_widget(self.password)
class MyApp(App):
def build(self):
return LoginScreen()
if __name__ == '__main__':
MyApp().run()
50
At line 2 we import a Gridlayout:

from kivy.uix.gridlayout import GridLayout
This class is used as a Base for our Root Widget (LoginScreen) defined at line 9:
class LoginScreen(GridLayout):
At line 12 in the class LoginScreen, we overload the method __init__() so as to add widgets and to
define their behavior:
super(LoginScreen, self).__init__(**kwargs)
One should not forget to call super in order to implement the functionality of the original class being
overloaded. Also note that it is good practice not to omit the **kwargs while calling super, as they are
sometimes used internally.
Moving on to Line 15 and beyond:
self.cols = 2
self.add_widget(Label(text='User Name'))
self.username = TextInput(multiline=False)
self.add_widget(self.username)
self.add_widget(Label(text='password'))
self.password = TextInput(password=True, multiline=False)
self.add_widget(self.password)
We ask the GridLayout to manage its children in two columns and add a Label and a TextInput for
the username and password.
Running the above code will give you a window that should look like this:
Try re-sizing the window and you will see that the widgets on screen adjust themselves according to
the size of the window without you having to do anything. This is because widgets use size hinting by
default.
The code above doesnt handle the input from the user, does no validation or anything else. We will
delve deeper into this and Widget size and positioning in the coming sections.
51
6.6 Platform specifics

Opening a Terminal application and setting the kivy environment variables.
On Windows, just double click the kivy.bat and a terminal will be opened with all the required variables already set.
On nix* systems, open the terminal of your choice and if kivy isnt installed globally:
export python=$PYTHONPATH:/path/to/kivy_installation
52
CHAPTER
SEVEN
CONTROLLING THE ENVIRONMENT

Many environment variables are available to control the initialization and behavior of Kivy.
For example, for restricting text rendering to PIL implementation:
$ KIVY_TEXT=pil python main.py
Environment variable can be set before importing kivy:

import os
os.environ['KIVY_TEXT'] = 'pil'
import kivy
7.1 Path control

You can control the default directories where config files, modules, extensions, and kivy data are located.
KIVY_DATA_DIR Location of the Kivy data, default to <kivy path>/data
KIVY_EXTS_DIR Location of the Kivy extensions, default to <kivy path>/extensions
KIVY_MODULES_DIR Location of the Kivy modules, default to <kivy path>/modules
KIVY_HOME Location of the Kivy home. This directory is used for local configuration, and must be
in a writable location.
Defaults to:
Desktop: <user home>/.kivy
Android: <android app path>/.kivy
iOS: <user home>/Documents/.kivy
KIVY_SDL2_PATH If set, the SDL2 libraries and headers from this path are used when compiling kivy
instead of the ones installed system-wide. To use the same libraries while running a kivy app, this
path must be added at the start of the PATH environment variable.
Warning: Must be used during the compilation of Kivy. It is not required for the execution.
53
7.2 Configuration
KIVY_USE_DEFAULTCONFIG If this name is found in environ, Kivy will not read the user config
file.
KIVY_NO_CONFIG If set, no configuration file will be read or write, and no user configuration directory too.
KIVY_NO_FILELOG If set, logs will be not print on a file
KIVY_NO_CONSOLELOG If set, logs will be not print on the console
KIVY_NO_ARGS If set, the argument passed in command line will not be parsed and used by Kivy.
Ie, you can safely make a script or an app with your own arguments without requiring the
delimiter:
import os
os.environ["KIVY_NO_ARGS"] = "1"
import kivy
7.3 Restrict core to specific implementation

kivy.core try to select the best implementation available for your platform. For testing or custom
installation, you might want to restrict the selector to a specific implementation.
KIVY_WINDOW Implementation to use for creating the Window
Values: sdl2, pygame, x11, egl_rpi
KIVY_TEXT Implementation to use for rendering text
Values: sdl2, pil, pygame, sdlttf
KIVY_VIDEO Implementation to use for rendering video
Values: pygst, gstplayer, pyglet, ffpyplayer, null
KIVY_AUDIO Implementation to use for playing audio
Values: sdl2, gstplayer, pygst, ffpyplayer, pygame
KIVY_IMAGE Implementation to use for reading image
Values: sdl2, pil, pygame, imageio, tex, dds, gif
KIVY_CAMERA Implementation to use for reading camera
Values: videocapture, avfoundation, pygst, opencv
KIVY_SPELLING Implementation to use for spelling
Values: enchant, osxappkit
KIVY_CLIPBOARD Implementation to use for clipboard management
Values: sdl2, pygame, dummy, android
7.4 Metrics
KIVY_DPI If set, the value will be used for Metrics.dpi.
54

KIVY_METRICS_DENSITY If set, the value will be used for Metrics.density.
KIVY_METRICS_FONTSCALE
If set, the value will be used for Metrics.fontscale.
7.5 Graphics
KIVY_GLES_LIMITS Whether the GLES2 restrictions are enforced (the default, or if set to 1). If set to
false, Kivy will not be trully GLES2 compatible.
Following is a list of the potential incompatibilities that result when set to true.
Mesh
indices
Texture
blit
If true, the number of indices in a mesh is limited to 65535

When blitting to a texture, the data (color and buffer) format must be the same format as
the one used at the texture creation. On desktop, the conversion of different color is
correctly handled by the driver, while on Android, most of devices fail to do it. Ref:
https://github.com/kivy/kivy/issues/1600

KIVY_BCM_DISPMANX_ID Change the default Raspberry Pi display to use. The list of available
value is accessible in vc_dispmanx_types.h. Default value is 0:
0: DISPMANX_ID_MAIN_LCD
1: DISPMANX_ID_AUX_LCD
2: DISPMANX_ID_HDMI
3: DISPMANX_ID_SDTV
4: DISPMANX_ID_FORCE_LCD
5: DISPMANX_ID_FORCE_TV
6: DISPMANX_ID_FORCE_OTHER
55
56
CHAPTER
EIGHT
CONFIGURE KIVY
The configuration file for kivy is named config.ini, and adheres to the standard INI format.
8.1 Locating the configuration file

The location of the configuration file is controlled by the environment variable KIVY_HOME:
<KIVY_HOME>/config.ini
On desktop, this defaults to:

<HOME_DIRECTORY>/.kivy/config.ini
Therefore, if your user is named tito, the file will be here:

Windows: C:\Users\tito\.kivy\config.ini
OS X: /Users/tito/.kivy/config.ini
Linux: /home/tito/.kivy/config.ini
On Android, this defaults to:
<ANDROID_APP_PATH>/.kivy/config.ini
If your app is named org.kivy.launcher, the file will be here:

/data/data/org.kivy.launcher/files/.kivy/config.ini
On iOS, this defaults to:

<HOME_DIRECTORY>/Documents/.kivy/config.ini
8.2 Understanding config tokens

All the configuration tokens are explained in the kivy.config module.
57
58
CHAPTER
NINE
ARCHITECTURAL OVERVIEW
We would like to take a moment to explain how we designed Kivy from a software engineering point of
view. This is key to understanding how everything works together. If you just look at the code, chances
are you will get a rough idea already, but since this approach certainly is daunting for most users, this
section explains the basic ideas of the implementation in more detail. You can skip this section and refer
to it later, but we suggest at least skimming it for a rough overview.
Kivy consists of several building blocks that we will explain shortly. Here is a graphical summary of
the architecture:
59
9.1 Core Providers and Input Providers

One idea that is key to understanding Kivys internals is that of modularity and abstraction. We try
to abstract basic tasks such as opening a window, displaying images and text, playing audio, getting
images from a camera, spelling correction and so on. We call these core tasks. This makes the API both
easy to use and easy to extend. Most importantly, it allows us to use what we call specific providers
for the respective scenarios in which your app is being run. For example, on OSX, Linux and Windows,
there are different native APIs for the different core tasks. A piece of code that uses one of these specific
APIs to talk to the operating system on one side and to Kivy on the other (acting as an intermediate
communication layer) is what we call a core provider. The advantage of using specialized core providers
for each platform is that we can fully leverage the functionality exposed by the operating system and act
as efficiently as possible. It also gives users a choice. Furthermore, by using libraries that are shipped
with any one platform, we effectively reduce the size of the Kivy distribution and make packaging
easier. This also makes it easier to port Kivy to other platforms. The Android port benefited greatly
from this.
We follow the same concept with input handling. An input provider is a piece of code that adds support
for a specific input device, such as Apples trackpads, TUIO or a mouse emulator. If you need to add
support for a new input device, you can simply provide a new class that reads your input data from
your device and transforms them into Kivy basic events.
9.2 Graphics
Kivys graphics API is our abstraction of OpenGL. On the lowest level, Kivy issues hardwareaccelerated drawing commands using OpenGL. Writing OpenGL code however can be a bit confusing,
especially to newcomers. Thats why we provide the graphics API that lets you draw things using
simple metaphors that do not exist as such in OpenGL (e.g. Canvas, Rectangle, etc.).
All of our widgets themselves use this graphics API, which is implemented on the C level for performance reasons.
Another advantage of the graphics API is its ability to automatically optimize the drawing commands
that your code issues. This is especially helpful if youre not an expert at tuning OpenGL. This makes
your drawing code more efficient in many cases.
You can, of course, still use raw OpenGL commands if you prefer. The version we target is OpenGL 2.0
ES (GLES2) on all devices, so if you want to stay cross-platform compatible, we advise you to only use
the GLES2 functions.
9.3 Core
The code in the core package provides commonly used features, such as:
Clock You can use the clock to schedule timer events. Both one-shot timers and periodic
timers are supported.
Cache If you need to cache something that you use often, you can use our class for that
instead of writing your own.
Gesture Detection We ship a simple gesture recognizer that you can use to detect various kinds of strokes, such as circles or rectangles. You can train it to detect your own
strokes.
Kivy Language The kivy language is used to easily and efficiently describe user interfaces.
60
Properties These are not the normal properties that you may know from python. They are
our own property classes that link your widget code with the user interface description.
9.4 UIX (Widgets & Layouts)

The UIX module contains commonly used widgets and layouts that you can reuse to quickly create a
user interface.
Widgets Widgets are user interface elements that you add to your program to provide
some kind of functionality. They may or may not be visible. Examples would be a
file browser, buttons, sliders, lists and so on. Widgets receive MotionEvents.
Layouts You use layouts to arrange widgets. It is of course possible to calculate your widgets positions yourself, but often it is more convenient to use one of our ready made
layouts. Examples would be Grid Layouts or Box Layouts. You can also nest layouts.
9.5 Modules
If youve ever used a modern web browser and customized it with some add-ons then you already
know the basic idea behind our module classes. Modules can be used to inject functionality into Kivy
programs, even if the original author did not include it.
An example would be a module that always shows the FPS of the current application and some graph
depicting the FPS over time.
You can also write your own modules.
9.6 Input Events (Touches)

Kivy abstracts different input types and sources such as touches, mice, TUIO or similar. What all of
these input types have in common is that you can associate a 2D onscreen-position with any individual
input event. (There are other input devices such as accelerometers where you cannot easily find a 2D
position for e.g. a tilt of your device. This kind of input is handled separately. In the following we
describe the former types.)
All of these input types are represented by instances of the Touch() class. (Note that this does not only
refer to finger touches, but all the other input types as well. We just called it Touch for the sake of
simplicity. Think of it of something that touches the user interface or your screen.) A touch instance, or
object, can be in one of three states. When a touch enters one of these states, your program is informed
that the event occurred. The three states a touch can be in are:
Down A touch is down only once, at the very moment where it first appears.
Move A touch can be in this state for a potentially unlimited time. A touch does not have
to be in this state during its lifetime. A Move happens whenever the 2D position of a
touch changes.
Up A touch goes up at most once, or never. In practice you will almost always receive an
up event because nobody is going to hold a finger on the screen for all eternity, but it is
not guaranteed. If you know the input sources your users will be using, you will know
whether or not you can rely on this state being entered.
61
9.7 Widgets and Event Dispatching

The term widget is often used in GUI programming contexts to describe some part of the program that
the user interacts with. In Kivy, a widget is an object that receives input events. It does not necessarily
have to have a visible representation on the screen. All widgets are arranged in a widget tree (which is a
tree data structure as known from computer science classes): One widget can have any number of child
widgets or none. There is exactly one root widget at the top of the tree that has no parent widget, and all
other widgets are directly or indirectly children of this widget (which is why its called the root).
When new input data is available, Kivy sends out one event per touch. The root widget of the widget
tree first receives the event. Depending on the state of the touch, the on_touch_down, on_touch_move
or on_touch_up event is dispatched (with the touch as the argument) to the root widget, which results
in the root widgets corresponding on_touch_down, on_touch_move or on_touch_up event handler
being called.
Each widget (this includes the root widget) in the tree can choose to either digest or pass the event on.
If an event handler returns True, it means that the event has been digested and handled properly. No
further processing will happen with that event. Otherwise, the event handler passes the widget on to
its own children by calling its superclasss implementation of the respective event handler. This goes
all the way up to the base Widget class, which in its touch event handlers does nothing but pass the
touches to its children:
# This is analogous for move/up:
def on_touch_down(self, touch):
for child in self.children[:]:
if child.dispatch('on_touch_down', touch):
return True
This really is much easier than it first seems. An example of how this can be used to create nice applications quickly will be given in the following section.
Often times you will want to restrict the area on the screen that a widget watches for touches. You can
use a widgets collide_point() method to achieve this. You simply pass it the touchs position and it
returns True if the touch is within the watched area or False otherwise. By default, this checks the
rectangular region on the screen thats described by the widgets pos (for position; x & y) and size
(width & height), but you can override this behaviour in your own class.
62
CHAPTER
TEN
EVENTS AND PROPERTIES

Events are an important part of Kivy programming. That may not be surprising to those with GUI
development experience, but its an important concept for newcomers. Once you understand how
events work and how to bind to them, you will see them everywhere in Kivy. They make it easy to
build whatever behavior you want into Kivy.
The following illustration shows how events are handled in the Kivy framework.
Kivy's Main Thread
Input
Dispatch Input
Events
Event Dispatcher
Non GUI Operations that

can be deferred to a
different thread.
Custom Events
Property Events
Window Events
File System
Input Processing
Post Processing
(double tap, swipe etc...)
Network
Motion Events
Process
GUI
Other
Main Kivy Loop
Clock Events
Loop
10.1 Introduction to the Event Dispatcher

One of the most important base classes of the framework is the EventDispatcher class. This class
allows you to register event types, and to dispatch them to interested parties (usually other event dispatchers). The Widget, Animation and Clock classes are examples of event dispatchers.
EventDispatcher objects depend on the main loop to generate and handle events.
63
10.2 Main loop

As outlined in the illustration above, Kivy has a main loop. This loop is running during all of the applications lifetime and only quits when exiting the application.
Inside the loop, at every iteration, events are generated from user input, hardware sensors or a couple
of other sources, and frames are rendered to the display.
Your application will specify callbacks (more on this later), which are called by the main loop. If a callback takes too long or doesnt quit at all, the main loop is broken and your app doesnt work properly
anymore.
In Kivy applications, you have to avoid long/infinite loops or sleeping. For example the following code
does both:
while True:
animate_something()
time.sleep(.10)
When you run this, the program will never exit your loop, preventing Kivy from doing all of the other
things that need doing. As a result, all youll see is a black window which you wont be able to interact
with. Instead, you need to schedule your animate_something() function to be called repeatedly.
10.2.1 Scheduling a repetitive event

You can call a function or a method every X times per second using schedule_interval(). Here is
an example of calling a function named my_callback 30 times per second:
def my_callback(dt):
print 'My callback is called', dt
Clock.schedule_interval(my_callback, 1 / 30.)
You have two ways of unscheduling a previously scheduled event.

unschedule():
The first would be to use
Clock.unschedule(my_callback)
Or, you can return False in your callback, and your event will be automatically unscheduled:
count = 0
global count
count += 1
if count == 10:
print 'Last call of my callback, bye bye !'
return False
print 'My callback is called'
Clock.schedule_interval(my_callback, 1 / 30.)
10.2.2 Scheduling a one-time event

Using schedule_once(), you can call a function later, like in the next frame, or in X seconds:
print 'My callback is called !'
Clock.schedule_once(my_callback, 1)
64
This will call my_callback in one second. The second argument is the amount of time to wait before
calling the function, in seconds. However, you can achieve some other results with special values for
the second argument:
If X is greater than 0, the callback will be called in X seconds
If X is 0, the callback will be called after the next frame
If X is -1, the callback will be called before the next frame
The -1 is mostly used when you are already in a scheduled event, and if you want to schedule a call
BEFORE the next frame is happening.
A second method for repeating a function call is to first schedule a callback once with
schedule_once(), and a second call to this function inside the callback itself:
print 'My callback is called !'
While the main loop will try to keep to the schedule as requested, there is some uncertainty as to
when exactly a scheduled callback will be called. Sometimes another callback or some other task in the
application will take longer than anticipated and thus the timing can be a little off.
In the latter solution to the repetitive callback problem, the next iteration will be called at least one
second after the last iteration ends. With schedule_interval() however, the callback is called every
second.
10.2.3 Trigger events

If you want to schedule a function to be called only once for the next frame, like a trigger, you might be
tempted to achieve that like so:
Clock.unschedule(my_callback)
This way of programming a trigger is expensive, since youll always call unschedule, whether or not
youve even scheduled it. In addition, unschedule needs to iterate the weakref list of the Clock in order
to find your callback and remove it. Use a trigger instead:
trigger = Clock.create_trigger(my_callback)
# later
trigger()
Each time you call trigger(), it will schedule a single call of your callback. If it was already scheduled, it
will not be rescheduled.
10.3 Widget events

A widget has 2 default types of events:
Property event: if your widget changes its position or size, an event is fired.
Widget-defined event: e.g. an event will be fired for a Button when its pressed or released.
For a discussion on how widget touch events managed and propagated, please refer to the Widget touch
event bubbling section.
65
10.4 Creating custom events

To create an event dispatcher with custom events, you need to register the name of the event in the class
and then create a method of the same name.
See the following example:
class MyEventDispatcher(EventDispatcher):
self.register_event_type('on_test')
super(MyEventDispatcher, self).__init__(**kwargs)
def do_something(self, value):
# when do_something is called, the 'on_test' event will be
# dispatched with the value
self.dispatch('on_test', value)
def on_test(self, *args):
print "I am dispatched", args
10.5 Attaching callbacks

To use events, you have to bind callbacks to them. When the event is dispatched, your callbacks will be
called with the parameters relevant to that specific event.
A callback can be any python callable, but you need to ensure it accepts the arguments that the event
emits. For this, its usually safest to accept the *args argument, which will catch all arguments in the
args list.
Example:
def my_callback(value, *args):
print "Hello, I got an event!", args
ev = MyEventDispatcher()
ev.bind(on_test=my_callback)
ev.do_something('test')
Pleases refer to the kivy.event.EventDispatcher.bind() method documentation for more examples on how to attach callbacks.
10.6 Introduction to Properties

Properties are an awesome way to define events and bind to them. Essentially, they produce events
such that when an attribute of your object changes, all properties that reference that attribute are automatically updated.
There are different kinds of properties to describe the type of data you want to handle.
StringProperty
NumericProperty
BoundedNumericProperty
ObjectProperty
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DictProperty
ListProperty
OptionProperty
AliasProperty
BooleanProperty
ReferenceListProperty
10.7 Declaration of a Property

To declare properties, you must declare them at the class level. The class will then do the work to
instantiate the real attributes when your object is created. These properties are not attributes: they are
mechanisms for creating events based on your attributes:
class MyWidget(Widget):
text = StringProperty('')
When overriding __init__, always accept **kwargs and use super() to call the parents __init__ method,
passing in your class instance:
super(MyWidget, self).__init__(**kwargs)
10.8 Dispatching a Property event

Kivy properties, by default, provide an on_<property_name> event. This event is called when the value
of the property is changed.
Note: If the new value for the property is equal to the current value, then the on_<property_name> event
will not be called.
For example, consider the following code:
1
class CustomBtn(Widget):
2
3
pressed = ListProperty([0, 0])
4
5
6
7
8
9

if self.collide_point(*touch.pos):
self.pressed = touch.pos
return True
return super(CustomBtn, self).on_touch_down(touch)
10
11
12
def on_pressed(self, instance, pos):

print ('pressed at {pos}'.format(pos=pos))
In the code above at line 3:

We define the pressed Property of type ListProperty, giving it a default value of [0, 0]. From this
point forward, the on_pressed event will be called whenever the value of this property is changed.
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At Line 5:
return True
We override the on_touch_down() method of the Widget class. Here, we check for collision of the
touch with our widget.
If the touch falls inside of our widget, we change the value of pressed to touch.pos and return True,
indicating that we have consumed the touch and dont want it to propagate any further.
Finally, if the touch falls outside our widget, we call the original event using super(...) and return the
result. This allows the touch event propagation to continue as it would normally have occured.
Finally on line 11:
We define an on_pressed function that will be called by the property whenever the property value is
changed.
Note: This on_<prop_name> event is called within the class where the property is defined. To monitor/observe any change to a property outside of the class where its defined, you should bind to the
property as shown below.
Binding to the property
How to monitor changes to a property when all you have access to is a widget instance? You bind to the
property:
your_widget_instance.bind(property_name=function_name)
For example, consider the following code:

1
class RootWidget(BoxLayout):

super(RootWidget, self).__init__(**kwargs)
self.add_widget(Button(text='btn 1'))
cb = CustomBtn()
cb.bind(pressed=self.btn_pressed)
self.add_widget(cb)
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
def btn_pressed(self, instance, pos):

print ('pos: printed from root widget: {pos}'.format(pos=.pos))
11
12
If you run the code as is, you will notice two print statements in the console. One from the on_pressed
event that is called inside the CustomBtn class and another from the btn_pressed function that we bind to
the property change.
The reason that both functions are called is simple. Binding doesnt mean overriding. Having both
of these functions is redundant and you should generally only use one of the methods of listening/reacting to property changes.
You should also take note of the parameters that are passed to the on_<property_name> event or the
function bound to the property.
68
The first parameter is self, which is the instance of the class where this function is defined. You can use
an in-line function as follows:
1
cb = CustomBtn()
2
3
4
def _local_func(instance, pos):

print ('pos: printed from root widget: {pos}'.format(pos=.pos))
5
6
7
cb.bind(pressed=_local_func)
self.add_widget(cb)
The first parameter would be the instance of the class the property is defined.
The second parameter would be the value, which is the new value of the property.
Here is the complete example, derived from the snippets above, that you can use to copy and paste into
an editor to experiment.
1
2
3
4
5
from
from
from
from
from
kivy.app import App

kivy.uix.widget import Widget
kivy.uix.button import Button
kivy.uix.boxlayout import BoxLayout
kivy.properties import ListProperty
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

cb = CustomBtn()
cb.bind(pressed=self.btn_pressed)
self.add_widget(cb)
16
17
18

print ('pos: printed from root widget: {pos}'.format(pos=pos))
19
20
class CustomBtn(Widget):
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

# we consumed the touch. return False here to propagate
# the touch further to the children.
return True
31
32
33

34
35
class TestApp(App):
36
37
38
def build(self):
return RootWidget()
39
40
41
if __name__ == '__main__':
69
TestApp().run()
42
Running the code above will give you the following output:
Our CustomBtn has no visual representation and thus appears black. You can touch/click on the black
area to see the output on your console.
10.9 Compound Properties

When defining an AliasProperty, you normally define a getter and a setter function yourself. Here,
it falls on to you to define when the getter and the setter functions are called using the bind argument.
Consider the following code.
1
2
3
4
cursor_pos = AliasProperty(_get_cursor_pos, None, bind=(

'cursor', 'padding', 'pos', 'size', 'focus',
'scroll_x', 'scroll_y'))
'''Current position of the cursor, in (x, y).
5
6
7
:attr:`cursor_pos` is a :class:`~kivy.properties.AliasProperty`, read-only.

'''
Here cursor_pos is a AliasProperty which uses the getter _get_cursor_pos with the setter part set to
None, implying this is a read only Property.
The bind argument at the end defines that on_cursor_pos event is dispatched when any of the properties
used in the bind= argument change.
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CHAPTER
ELEVEN
INPUT MANAGEMENT
11.1 Input architecture
Kivy is able to handle most types of input: mouse, touchscreen, accelerometer, gyroscope, etc. It handles
the native multitouch protocols on the following platforms: Tuio, WM_Touch, MacMultitouchSupport,
MT Protocol A/B and Android.
The global architecture can be viewed as:
Input providers -> Motion event -> Post processing -> Dispatch to Window
The class of all input events is the MotionEvent. It generates 2 kinds of events:
Touch events: a motion event that contains at least an X and Y position. All the touch events are
dispatched across the Widget tree.
No-touch events: all the rest. For example, the accelerometer is a continuous event, without
position. It never starts or stops. These events are not dispatched across the Widget tree.
A Motion event is generated by an Input Provider. An Input Provider is responsible for reading
the input event from the operating system, the network or even from another application. Several input
providers exist, such as:
TuioMotionEventProvider: create a UDP server and listen for TUIO/OSC messages.
WM_MotionEventProvider: use the windows API for reading multitouch information and
sending it to Kivy.
ProbeSysfsHardwareProbe: In Linux, iterate over all the hardware connected to the computer,
and attaches a multitouch input provider for each multitouch device found.
and much more!
When you write an application, you dont need to create an input provider. Kivy tries to automatically detect available hardware. However, if you want to support custom hardware, you will need to
configure kivy to make it work.
Before the newly-created Motion Event is passed to the user, Kivy applies post-processing to the input. Every motion event is analyzed to detect and correct faulty input, as well as make meaningful
interpretations like:
Double/triple-tap detection, according to a distance and time threshold
Making events more accurate when the hardware is not accurate
Reducing the amount of generated events if the native touch hardware is sending events with
nearly the same position
After processing, the motion event is dispatched to the Window. As explained previously, not all events
are dispatched to the whole widget tree: the window filters them. For a given event:
71
if its only a motion event, it will be dispatched to on_motion()

if its a touch event, the (x,y) position of the touch (0-1 range) will be scaled to the Window size
(width/height), and dispatched to:
on_touch_down()
on_touch_move()
on_touch_up()
11.2 Motion event profiles

Depending on your hardware and the input providers used, more information may be made available
to you. For example, a touch input has an (x,y) position, but might also have pressure information, blob
size, an acceleration vector, etc.
A profile is a string that indicates what features are available inside the motion event. Lets imagine
that you are in an on_touch_move method:
def on_touch_move(self, touch):
print(touch.profile)
return super(..., self).on_touch_move(touch)
The print could output:

['pos', 'angle']
Warning: Many people mix up the profiles name and the name of the corresponding property. Just
because angle is in the available profile doesnt mean that the touch event object will have an
angle property.
For the pos profile, the properties pos, x, and y will be available. With the angle profile, the
property a will be available. As we said, for touch events pos is a mandatory profile, but not
angle. You can extend your interaction by checking if the angle profile exists:
print('The touch is at position', touch.pos)
if 'angle' in touch.profile:
print('The touch angle is', touch.a)
You can find a list of available profiles in the motionevent documentation.
11.3 Touch events

A touch event is a specialized MotionEvent where the property is_touch evaluates to True. For all
touch events, you automatically have the X and Y positions available, scaled to the Window width and
height. In other words, all touch events have the pos profile.
11.3.1 Touch event basics

By default, touch events are dispatched to all currently displayed widgets. This means widgets recieve
the touch event whether it occurs within their physical area or not.
72
This can be counter intuitive if you have experience with other GUI toolkits. These typically divide the
screen into geometric areas and only dispatch touch or mouse events to the widget if the coordinate lies
within the widgets area.
This requirement becomes very restrictive when working with touch input. Swipes, pinches and long
presses may well originate from outside of the widget that wants to know about them and react to them.
In order to provide the maximum flexibility, Kivy dispatches the events to all the widgets and lets them
decide how to react to them. If you only want to respond to touch events inside the widget, you simply
check:
# The touch has occurred inside the widgets area. Do stuff!
pass
11.3.2 Coordinates
You must take care of matrix transformation in your touch as soon as you use a widget with matrix
transformation. Some widgets such as Scatter have their own matrix transformation, meaning the
touch must be multiplied by the scatter matrix to be able to correctly dispatch touch positions to the
Scatters children.
Get coordinate from parent space to local space: to_local()
Get coordinate from local space to parent space: to_parent()
Get coordinate from local space to window space: to_window()
Get coordinate from window space to local space: to_widget()
You must use one of them to scale coordinates correctly to the context. Lets look the scatter implementation:
# push the current coordinate, to be able to restore it later
touch.push()
# transform the touch coordinate to local space
touch.apply_transform_2d(self.to_local)
# dispatch the touch as usual to children
# the coordinate in the touch is now in local space
ret = super(..., self).on_touch_down(touch)
# whatever the result, don't forget to pop your transformation
# after the call, so the coordinate will be back in parent space
touch.pop()
# return the result (depending what you want.)
return ret
11.3.3 Touch shapes

If the touch has a shape, it will be reflected in the shape property. Right now, only a ShapeRect can
be exposed:
from kivy.input.shape import ShapeRect
73
if isinstance(touch.shape, ShapeRect):
print('My touch have a rectangle shape of size',
(touch.shape.width, touch.shape.height))
# ...
11.3.4 Double tap

A double tap is the action of tapping twice within a time and a distance. Its calculated by the doubletap
post-processing module. You can test if the current touch is one of a double tap or not:
if touch.is_double_tap:
print('Touch is a double tap !')
print(' - interval is', touch.double_tap_time)
print(' - distance between previous is', touch.double_tap_distance)
# ...
11.3.5 Triple tap

A triple tap is the action of tapping thrice within a time and a distance. Its calculated by the tripletap
post-processing module. You can test if the current touch is one of a triple tap or not:
if touch.is_triple_tap:
print('Touch is a triple tap !')
print(' - interval is', touch.triple_tap_time)
print(' - distance between previous is', touch.triple_tap_distance)
# ...
11.3.6 Grabbing touch events

Its possible for the parent widget to dispatch a touch event to a child widget from within
on_touch_down, but not from on_touch_move or on_touch_up. This can happen in certain scenarios, like when a touch movement is outside the bounding box of the parent, so the parent decides
not to notify its children of the movement.
But you might want to do something in on_touch_up. Say you started something in the
on_touch_down event, like playing a sound, and youd like to finish things on the on_touch_up
event. Grabbing is what you need.
When you grab a touch, you will always receive the move and up event. But there are some limitations
to grabbing:
You will receive the event at least twice: one time from your parent (the normal event), and one
time from the window (grab).
You might receive an event with a grabbed touch, but not from you: it can be because the parent
has sent the touch to its children while it was in the grabbed state.
The touch coordinate is not translated to your widget space because the touch is coming directly
from the Window. Its your job to convert the coordinate to your local space.
Here is an example of how to use grabbing:
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# if the touch collides with our widget, let's grab it

touch.grab(self)
# and accept the touch.
return True
def on_touch_up(self, touch):
# here, you don't check if the touch collides or things like that.
# you just need to check if it's a grabbed touch event
if touch.grab_current is self:
# ok, the current touch is dispatched for us.
# do something interesting here
print('Hello world!')
# don't forget to ungrab ourself, or you might have side effects
touch.ungrab(self)
# and accept the last up
return True
11.3.7 Touch Event Management

In order to see how touch events are controlled and propogated between widgets, please refer to the
Widget touch event bubbling section.
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76
CHAPTER
TWELVE
WIDGETS
12.1 Introduction to Widget
A Widget is the base building block of GUI interfaces in Kivy. It provides a Canvas that can be used
to draw on screen. It receives events and reacts to them. For a in-depth explanation about the Widget
class, look at the module documentation.
12.2 Manipulating the Widget tree

Widgets in Kivy are organized in trees. Your application has a root widget, which usually has children
that can have children of their own. Children of a widget are represented as the children attribute,
a Kivy ListProperty.
The widget tree can be manipulated with the following methods:
add_widget(): add a widget as a child
remove_widget(): remove a widget from the children list
clear_widgets(): remove all children from a widget
For example, if you want to add a button inside a BoxLayout, you can do:
layout = BoxLayout(padding=10)
button = Button(text='My first button')
layout.add_widget(button)
The button is added to layout: the buttons parent property will be set to layout; the layout will have
the button added to its children list. To remove the button from the layout:
layout.remove_widget(button)
With removal, the buttons parent property will be set to None, and the layout will have button removed
from its children list.
If you want to clear all the children inside a widget, use clear_widgets() method:
layout.clear_widgets()
Warning: Never manipulate the children list yourself, unless you really know what you are doing. The widget tree is associated with a graphic tree. For example, if you add a widget into the
children list without adding its canvas to the graphics tree, the widget will be a child, yes, but nothing will be drawn on the screen. Moreover, you might have issues on further calls of add_widget,
remove_widget and clear_widgets.
77
12.3 Traversing the Tree

The Widget class instances children list property contains all the children. You can easily traverse
the tree by doing:
root = BoxLayout()
# ... add widgets to root ...
for child in root.children:
print(child)
However, this must be used carefuly. If you intend to modify the children list with one of the methods
shown in the previous section, you must use a copy of the list like this:
for child in root.children[:]:
# manipulate the tree. For example here, remove all widgets that have a
# width < 100
if child.width < 100:
root.remove_widget(child)
Widgets dont influence the size/pos of their children by default. The pos attribute is the absolute
position in screen co-ordinates (unless, you use the relativelayout. More on that later) and size,
is an absolute size.
12.4 Widgets Z Index

The order of drawing widgets is based on position in the widget tree. The last widgets canvas is drawn
last (on top of everything else inside its parent). add_widget takes a index parameter:
root.add_widget(widget, index)
for setting the z-index.
12.5 Organize with Layouts

layout is a special kind of widget that controls the size and position of its children. There are different kinds of layouts, allowing for different automatic organization of their children. Layouts use
size_hint and pos_hint properties to determine the size and pos of their children.
BoxLayout: Arranges widgets in an adjacent manner (either vertically or horizontally) manner, to fill
all the space. The size_hint property of children can be used to change proportions allowed to each
child, or set fixed size for some of them.
78
79
80
GridLayout: Arranges widgets in a grid. You must specify at least one dimension of the grid so kivy
can compute the size of the elements and how to arrange them.
StackLayout: Arranges widgets adjacent to one another, but with a set size in one of the dimensions,
without trying to make them fit within the entire space. This is useful to display children of the same
predefined size.
AnchorLayout: A simple layout only caring about children positions. It allows putting the children at
a position relative to a border of the layout. size_hint is not honored.
FloatLayout: Allows placing children with arbitrary locations and size, either absolute or relative to
the layout size. Default size_hint (1, 1) will make every child the same size as the whole layout, so you
probably want to change this value if you have more than one child. You can set size_hint to (None,
None) to use absolute size with size. This widget honors pos_hint also, which as a dict setting position
relative to layout position.
RelativeLayout: Behaves just like FloatLayout, except children positions are relative to layout position,
not the screen.
Examine the documentation of the individaul layouts for a more in-depth understanding.
size_hint and pos_hint:
floatlayout
boxlayout
gridlayout
stacklayout
relativelayout
anchorlayout
size_hint is a ReferenceListProperty of size_hint_x and size_hint_y. It accepts values
from 0 to 1 or None and defaults to (1, 1). This signifies that if the widget is in a layout, the layout will
allocate it as much place as possible in both directions (relative to the layouts size).
81
Setting size_hint to (0.5, 0.8), for example, will make the widget 50% the width and 80% the height
of available size for the Widget inside a layout.
Consider the following example:
BoxLayout:
Button:
text: 'Button 1'
# default size_hint is 1, 1, we don't need to specify it explicitly
# however it's provided here to make things clear
size_hint: 1, 1
load kivy catalog:

cd $KIVYDIR/examples/demo/kivycatalog
python main.py
Replace $KIVYDIR with the directory of your installation of Kivy. Click on the button labeled Box
Layout from the left. Now paste the code from above into the editor panel on the right.
As you can see from the image above, the Button takes up 100% of the layout size.
Changing the size_hint_x/size_hint_y to .5 will make the Widget take 50% of the layout
width/height.
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You can see here that, although we specify size_hint_x and size_hint_y both to be .5, only
size_hint_x seems to be honored. That is because boxlayout controls the size_hint_y when
orientation is vertical and size_hint_x when orientation is horizontal. The controlled dimensions size is calculated depending upon the total no. of children in the boxlayout. In this
example, one child has size_hint_y controlled (.5/.5 = 1). Thus, the widget takes 100% of the parent
layouts height.
Lets add another Button to the layout and see what happens.
83
boxlayout by its very nature divides the available space between its children equally. In our example, the proportion is 50-50, because we have two children. Lets use size_hint on one of the children
and see the results.
84
If a child specifies size_hint, this specifies how much space the Widget will take out of the size
given to it by the boxlayout. In our example, the first Button specifies .5 for size_hint_x. The
space for the widget is calculated like so:
first child's size_hint devided by
first child's size_hint + second child's size_hint + ...n(no of children)
.5/(.5+1) = .333...
The rest of the BoxLayouts width is divided among the rest of the children. In our example, this
means the second Button takes up 66.66% of the layout width.
Experiment with size_hint to get comfortable with it.
If you want to control the absolute size of a Widget, you can set size_hint_x/size_hint_y or
both to None so that the widgets width and or height attributes will be honored.
pos_hint is a dict, which defaults to empty. As for size_hint, layouts honor pos_hint differently,
but generally you can add values to any of the pos attributes (x, y, left, top, center_x, center_y)
to have the Widget positioned relative to its parent.
Lets experiment with the following code in kivycatalog to understand pos_hint visually:
FloatLayout:
Button:
text: "We Will"
pos: 100, 100
size_hint: .2, .4
Button:
text: "Wee Wiill"
pos: 200, 200
size_hint: .4, .2
Button:
text: "ROCK YOU!!"
pos_hint: {'x': .3, 'y': .6}
size_hint: .5, .2
This gives us:
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As with size_hint, you should experiment with pos_hint to understand the effect it has on the
widget positions.
12.6 Adding a Background to a Layout

One of the frequently asked questions about layouts is::
"How to add a background image/color/video/... to a Layout"
Layouts by their nature have no visual representation: they have no canvas instructions by default.
However you can add canvas instructions to a layout instance easily, as with adding a colored background:
In Python:
from kivy.graphics import Color, Rectangle
with layout_instance.canvas.before:
Color(0, 1, 0, 1) # green; colors range from 0-1 instead of 0-255
self.rect = Rectangle(size=layout_instance.size,
pos=layout_instance.pos)
Unfortunately, this will only draw a rectangle at the layouts initial position and size. To make sure the
rect is drawn inside the layout, when the layout size/pos changes, we need to listen to any changes and
update the rectangles size and pos. We can do that as follows:
with layout_instance.canvas.before:
self.rect = Rectangle(size=layout_instance.size,
pos=layout_instance.pos)
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def update_rect(instance, value):

instance.rect.pos = instance.pos
instance.rect.size = instance.size
# listen to size and position changes
layout_instance.bind(pos=update_rect, size=update_rect)
In kv:
FloatLayout:
canvas.before:
Color:
rgba: 0, 1, 0, 1
Rectangle:
# self here refers to the widget i.e BoxLayout
pos: self.pos
size: self.size
The kv declaration sets an implicit binding: the last two kv lines ensure that the pos and size values
of the rectangle will update when the pos of the floatlayout changes.
Now we put the snippets above into the shell of Kivy App.
Pure Python way:
from
from
from
from
kivy.app import App

kivy.graphics import Color, Rectangle
kivy.uix.floatlayout import FloatLayout
class RootWidget(FloatLayout):
# make sure we aren't overriding any important functionality
# let's add a Widget to this layout
self.add_widget(
Button(
text="Hello World",
size_hint=(.5, .5),
pos_hint={'center_x': .5, 'center_y': .5}))
class MainApp(App):
def build(self):
self.root = root = RootWidget()
root.bind(size=self._update_rect, pos=self._update_rect)
with root.canvas.before:
Color(0, 1, 0, 1) # green; colors range from 0-1 not 0-255
self.rect = Rectangle(size=root.size, pos=root.pos)
return root
def _update_rect(self, instance, value):
self.rect.pos = instance.pos
self.rect.size = instance.size
87
if __name__ == '__main__':
MainApp().run()
Using the kv Language:

from kivy.lang import Builder
root = Builder.load_string('''
FloatLayout:
canvas.before:
Color:
rgba: 0, 1, 0, 1
Rectangle:
# self here refers to the widget i.e FloatLayout
pos: self.pos
size: self.size
Button:
text: 'Hello World!!'
size_hint: .5, .5
pos_hint: {'center_x':.5, 'center_y': .5}
''')
class MainApp(App):
def build(self):
return root
if __name__ == '__main__':
MainApp().run()
Both of the Apps should look something like this:
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To add a color to the background of a **custom layouts rule/class **

The way we add background to the layouts instance can quickly become cumbersome if we need to
use multiple layouts. To help with this, you can subclass the Layout and create your own layout that
adds a background.
Using Python:
from
from
from
from
from
kivy.app import App

kivy.uix.image import AsyncImage
pass
class CustomLayout(FloatLayout):
# make sure we aren't overriding any important functionality
super(CustomLayout, self).__init__(**kwargs)
with self.canvas.before:
self.rect = Rectangle(size=self.size, pos=self.pos)
self.bind(size=self._update_rect, pos=self._update_rect)
89
def _update_rect(self, instance, value):

self.rect.pos = instance.pos
self.rect.size = instance.size
class MainApp(App):
def build(self):
root = RootWidget()
c = CustomLayout()
root.add_widget(c)
c.add_widget(
AsyncImage(
source="http://www.everythingzoomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Monday-joke-28
size_hint= (1, .5),
pos_hint={'center_x':.5, 'center_y':.5}))
root.add_widget(AsyncImage(source='http://www.stuffistumbledupon.com/wp-content/uploads/2
c = CustomLayout()
c.add_widget(
AsyncImage(
source="http://www.stuffistumbledupon.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Get-a-Girlfr
size_hint= (1, .5),
pos_hint={'center_x':.5, 'center_y':.5}))
root.add_widget(c)
return root
if __name__ == '__main__':
MainApp().run()
Using the kv Language:

from
from
from
from
kivy.app import App

kivy.lang import Builder
Builder.load_string('''
<CustomLayout>
canvas.before:
Color:
rgba: 0, 1, 0, 1
Rectangle:
pos: self.pos
size: self.size
<RootWidget>
CustomLayout:
AsyncImage:
source: 'http://www.everythingzoomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Monday-joke-289x2
size_hint: 1, .5
AsyncImage:
source: 'http://www.stuffistumbledupon.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Have-you-seen-thisCustomLayout
AsyncImage:
source: 'http://www.stuffistumbledupon.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Get-a-Girlfrien
size_hint: 1, .5
90
''')
pass
class CustomLayout(FloatLayout):
pass
class MainApp(App):
def build(self):
return RootWidget()
if __name__ == '__main__':
MainApp().run()
Both of the Apps should look something like this:
Defining the background in the custom layout class, assures that it will be used in every instance of
CustomLayout.
Now, to add an image or color to the background of a built-in Kivy layout, globally, we need to override
the kv rule for the layout in question. Consider GridLayout:
<GridLayout>
canvas.before:
Color:
rgba: 0, 1, 0, 1
BorderImage:
source: '../examples/widgets/sequenced_images/data/images/button_white.png'
pos: self.pos
91
size: self.size
Then, when we put this snippet into a Kivy app:

from kivy.uix.floatlayout import FloatLayout
<GridLayout>
canvas.before:
BorderImage:
# BorderImage behaves like the CSS BorderImage
border: 10, 10, 10, 10
source: '../examples/widgets/sequenced_images/data/images/button_white.png'
pos: self.pos
size: self.size
<RootWidget>
GridLayout:
size_hint: .9, .9
pos_hint: {'center_x': .5, 'center_y': .5}
rows:1
Label:
text: "I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it"
text_size: self.width-20, self.height-20
valign: 'top'
Label:
text: "When I was born I was so surprised; I didn't speak for a year and a half."
valign: 'middle'
halign: 'center'
Label:
text: "A consultant is someone who takes a subject you understand and makes it sound
valign: 'bottom'
halign: 'justify'
''')
pass
class MainApp(App):
def build(self):
return RootWidget()
if __name__ == '__main__':
MainApp().run()
The result should look something like this:
92
As we are overriding the rule of the class GridLayout, any use of this class in our app will display that
image.
How about an Animated background?
You can set the drawing instructions like Rectangle/BorderImage/Ellipse/... to use a particular texture:
Rectangle:
texture: reference to a texture
We use this to display an animated background:

from
from
from
from
from
from
kivy.app import App

kivy.uix.gridlayout import GridLayout
kivy.uix.image import Image
kivy.properties import ObjectProperty
<CustomLayout>
canvas.before:
BorderImage:
# BorderImage behaves like the CSS BorderImage
border: 10, 10, 10, 10
texture: self.background_image.texture
pos: self.pos
size: self.size
93
<RootWidget>
CustomLayout:
size_hint: .9, .9
rows:1
Label:
text: "I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it"
valign: 'top'
Label:
text: "When I was born I was so surprised; I didn't speak for a year and a half."
valign: 'middle'
halign: 'center'
Label:
text: "A consultant is someone who takes a subject you understand and makes it sound
valign: 'bottom'
halign: 'justify'
''')
class CustomLayout(GridLayout):
background_image = ObjectProperty(
Image(
source='../examples/widgets/sequenced_images/data/images/button_white_animated.zip',
anim_delay=.1))
pass
class MainApp(App):
def build(self):
return RootWidget()
if __name__ == '__main__':
MainApp().run()
To try to understand what is happening here, start from line 13:

texture: self.background_image.texture
This specifies that the texture property of BorderImage will be updated whenever the texture property of
background_inage updates. We define the background_image property at line 40:
background_image = ObjectProperty(...
This sets up background_image as an ObjectProperty in which we add an Image widget. An image

widget has a texture property; where you see self.background_image.texture, this sets a reference, texture,
to this property. The Image widget supports animation: the texture of the image is updated whenever
the animation changes, and the texture of BorderImage instruction is updated in the process.
You can also just blit custom data to the texture. For details, look at the documention of Texture.
94
12.7 Nesting Layouts

Yes! It is quite fun to see how extensible the process can be.
12.8 Size and position metrics

Kivys default unit for length is the pixel, all sizes and positions are expressed in it by default. You
can express them in other units, which is useful to achieve better consistency across devices (they get
converted to the size in pixels automatically).
Available units are pt, mm, cm, inch, dp and sp. You can learn about their usage in the metrics
documentation.
You can also experiment with the screen usage to simulate various devices screens for your application.
12.9 Screen Separation with Screen Manager

If your application is composed of various screens, you likely want an easy way to navigate from one
Screen to another. Fortunately, there is the ScreenManager class, that allows you to define screens
separately, and to set the TransitionBase from one to another.
95
96
CHAPTER
THIRTEEN
GRAPHICS
13.1 Introduction to Canvas
Widgets graphical representation is done using a canvas, which you can see both as an unlimited drawing board, and as a set of drawing instructions. There are numerous different instructions you can apply
(add) to your canvas, but there are two main kinds of them:
context instructions
vertex instructions
Context instructions dont draw anything, but they change the results of the vertex instructions.
Canvasses can contain two subsets of instructions.
They are the canvas.before and the
canvas.after instruction groups. The instructions in these groups will be executed before and after the canvas group respectively. This means that they will appear under (be executed before) and
above (be executed after) them. Those groups are not created until the user accesses them.
To add a canvas instruction to a widget, you use the canvas context:
with self.canvas:
# add your instruction for main canvas here
# you can use this to add instructions rendered before
with self.canvas.after:
# you can use this to add instructions rendered after
13.2 Context instructions

Context instructions manipulate the opengl context. You can rotate, translate, and scale your canvas.
You can also attach a texture or change the drawing color. This one is the most commonly used, but
others are really useful too:
Color(1, 0, .4, mode='rgb')
97
13.3 Drawing instructions

Drawing instructions range from very simple ones, like drawing a line or a polygon, to more complex
ones, like meshes or bezier curves:
with self.canvas:
# draw a line using the default color
Line(points=(x1, y1, x2, y2, x3, y3))
# lets draw a semi-transparent red square
Color(1, 0, 0, .5, mode='rgba')
Rectangle(pos=self.pos, size=self.size)
13.4 Manipulating instructions

Sometime, you want to update or remove the instructions you added to a canvas, this can be done in
various ways depending on your needs:
You can keep a reference to your instructions and update them:
with self.canvas:
self.rect = Rectangle(pos=self.pos, size=self.size)
self.bind(pos=self.update_rect)
self.bind(size=self.update_rect)
def update_rect(self, *args):
self.rect.pos = self.pos
self.rect.size = self.size
Or you can clean your canvas and start fresh:

self.draw_my_stuff()
self.bind(pos=self.draw_my_stuff)
self.bind(size=self.draw_my_stuff)
def draw_my_stuff(self):
self.canvas.clear()
with self.canvas:
self.rect = Rectangle(pos=self.pos, size=self.size)
Note that updating the instructions is considered the best practice as it involves less overhead and
avoids creating new instructions.
98
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
KV LANGUAGE
14.1 Concept behind the language
As your application grow more complex, its common that the construction of widget trees and explicit
declaration of bindings, becomes verbose and hard to maintain. The KV Language is a attempt to
overcome these short-comings.
The KV language (sometimes called kvlang, or kivy language), allows you to create your widget tree
in a declarative way and to bind widget properties to each other or to callbacks in a natural manner.
It allows for very fast prototyping and agile changes to your UI. It also facilitates a good separation
between the logic of your application and its User Interface.
14.2 How to load KV

There are two ways to load Kv code into your application:
By name convention:
Kivy looks for a Kv file with the same name as your App class in lowercase, minus App if it
ends with App. E.g:
MyApp -> my.kv.
If this file defines a Root Widget it will be attached to the Apps root attribute and used as the base
of the application widget tree.
Builder: You can tell Kivy to directly load a string or a file. If this string or file defines a root
widget, it will be returned by the method:
Builder.load_file('path/to/file.kv')
or:
Builder.load_string(kv_string)
14.3 Rule context

A Kv source constitutes of rules, which are used to describe the content of a Widget, you can have one
root rule, and any number of class or template rules.
The root rule is declared by declaring the class of your root widget, without any indentation, followed
by : and will be set as the root attribute of the App instance:
99
Widget:
A class rule, declared by the name of a widget class between < > and followed by :, defines how any
instance of that class will be graphically represented:
<MyWidget>:
Rules use indentation for delimitation, as python, indentation should be of four spaces per level, like
the python good practice recommendations.
There are three keywords specific to Kv language:
app: always refers to the instance of your application.
root: refers to the base widget/template in the current rule
self : always refer to the current widget
14.4 Special syntaxes

There are two special syntax to define values for the whole Kv context:
To import something from python:
#:import name x.y.z
#:import isdir os.path.isdir
#:import np numpy
Is equivalent to:
from x.y import z as name
from os.path import isdir
import numpy as np
in python.
To set a global value:
#:set name value
Is equivalent to:
name = value
in python.
14.5 Instantiate children

To declare the widget has a child widget, instance of some class, just declare this child inside the rule:
MyRootWidget:
BoxLayout:
Button:
Button:
The example above defines that our root widget, an instance of MyRootWidget, which has a child that
is an instance of the BoxLayout. That BoxLayout further has two children, instances of the Button
class.
A python equivalent of this code could be:
100
root = MyRootWidget()
box = BoxLayout()
box.add_widget(Button())
box.add_widget(Button())
root.add_widget(box)
Which you may find less nice, both to read and to write.
Of course, in python, you can pass keyword arguments to your widgets at creation to specify their
behaviour. For example, to set the number of columns of a gridlayout, we would do:
grid = GridLayout(cols=3)
To do the same thing in kv, you can set properties of the child widget directly in the rule:
GridLayout:
cols: 3
The value is evaluated as a python expression, and all the properties used in the expression will be
observed, that means that if you had something like this in python (this assume self is a widget with a
data ListProperty):
grid = GridLayout(cols=len(self.data))
self.bind(data=grid.setter('cols'))
To have your display updated when your data change, you can now have just:
GridLayout:
cols: len(root.data)
Note: Widget names must start with upper case letters while property names with lower case ones,
following the PEP8 Naming Conventions<https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0008/#namingconventions>_ is encouraged.
14.6 Event Bindings

You can bind to events in Kv using the : syntax, that is, associating a callback to an event:
Widget:
on_size: my_callback()
You can pass the values dispatched by the signal using the args keyword:
TextInput:
on_text: app.search(args[1])
More complex expressions can be used, like:

pos: self.center_x - self.texture_size[0] / 2., self.center_y - self.texture_size[1] / 2.
This expression listens for a change in center_x, center_y, and texture_size. If one of them
changes, the expression will be re-evaluated to update the pos field.
You can also handle on_ events inside your kv language. For example the TextInput class has a focus
property whose auto-generated on_focus event can be accessed inside the kv language like so:
TextInput:
on_focus: print(args)
101
14.7 Extend canvas

Kv lang can be used to define the canvas instructions of your widget like this:
MyWidget:
canvas:
Color:
rgba: 1, .3, .8, .5
Line:
points: zip(self.data.x, self.data.y)
And they get updated when properties values change.

Of course you can use canvas.before and canvas.after.
14.8 Referencing Widgets

In a widget tree there is often a need to access/reference other widgets. The Kv Language provides a
way to do this using ids. Think of them as class level variables that can only be used in the Kv language.
Consider the following:
<MyFirstWidget>:
Button:
id: f_but
TextInput:
text: f_but.state
<MySecondWidget>:
Button:
id: s_but
TextInput:
text: s_but.state
An id is limited in scope to the rule it is declared in, so in the code above s_but can not be accessed
outside the <MySecondWidget> rule.
An id is a weakref to the widget and not the widget itself. As a consequence, storing the id is not
sufficient to keep the widget from being garbage collected. To demonstrate:
<MyWidget>:
label_widget: label_widget
Button:
text: 'Add Button'
on_press: root.add_widget(label_widget)
Button:
text: 'Remove Button'
on_press: root.remove_widget(label_widget)
Label:
id: label_widget
text: 'widget'
Although a reference to label_widget is stored in MyWidget, it is not sufficient to keep the object
alive once other references have been removed because its only a weakref. Therefore, after the remove button is clicked (which removes any direct reference to the widget) and the window is resized
(which calls the garbage collector resulting in the deletion of label_widget), when the add button is
clicked to add the widget back, a ReferenceError: weakly-referenced object no longer
exists will be thrown.
102
To keep the widget alive, a direct reference to the label_widget widget must be kept. This is achieved
using id.__self__ or label_widget.__self__ in this case. The correct way to do this would be:
<MyWidget>:
label_widget: label_widget.__self__
14.9 Accessing Widgets defined inside Kv lang in your python code

Consider the code below in my.kv:
<MyFirstWidget>:
# both these variables can be the same name and this doesn't lead to
# an issue with uniqueness as the id is only accessible in kv.
txt_inpt: txt_inpt
Button:
id: f_but
TextInput:
id: txt_inpt
text: f_but.state
on_text: root.check_status(f_but)
In myapp.py:
...
class MyFirstWidget(BoxLayout):
txt_inpt = ObjectProperty(None)
def check_status(self, btn):
print('button state is: {state}'.format(state=btn.state))
print('text input text is: {txt}'.format(txt=self.txt_inpt))
...
txt_inpt is defined as a ObjectProperty initialized to None inside the Class.:

txt_inpt = ObjectProperty(None)
At this point self.txt_inpt is None. In Kv lang this property is updated to hold the instance of the
TextInput referenced by the id txt_inpt.:
txt_inpt: txt_inpt
From this point onwards, self.txt_inpt holds a reference to the widget identified by the id txt_input and
can be used anywhere in the class, as in the function check_status. In contrast to this method you could
also just pass the id to the function that needs to use it, like in case of f_but in the code above.
There is a simpler way to access objects with id tags in Kv using the ids lookup object. You can do this
as follows:
<Marvel>
Label:
id: loki
text: 'loki: I AM YOUR GOD!'
Button:
id: hulk
text: "press to smash loki"
on_release: root.hulk_smash()
In your python code:
103
class Marvel(BoxLayout):
def hulk_smash(self):
self.ids.hulk.text = "hulk: puny god!"
self.ids["loki"].text = "loki: >_<!!!"
# alternative syntax
When your kv file is parsed, kivy collects all the widgets tagged with ids and places them in this self.ids
dictionary type property. That means you can also iterate over these widgets and access them dictionary
style:
for key, val in self.ids.items():
print("key={0}, val={1}".format(key, val))
Note: Although the self.ids method is very concise, it is generally regarded as best practise to use the
ObjectProperty. This creates a direct reference, provides faster access and is more explicit.
14.10 Dynamic Classes

Consider the code below:
<MyWidget>:
Button:
text: "Hello world, watch this text wrap inside the button"
text_size: self.size
font_size: '25sp'
markup: True
Button:
text: "Even absolute is relative to itself"
font_size: '25sp'
markup: True
Button:
text: "Repeating the same thing over and over in a comp = fail"
font_size: '25sp'
markup: True
Button:
Instead of having to repeat the same values for every button, we can just use a template instead, like so:
<MyBigButt@Button>:
font_size: '25sp'
markup: True
<MyWidget>:
MyBigButt:
text: "Hello world, watch this text wrap inside the button"
MyBigButt:
text: "Even absolute is relative to itself"
MyBigButt:
text: "repeating the same thing over and over in a comp = fail"
MyBigButt:
This class, created just by the declaration of this rule, inherits from the Button class and allows us to
change default values and create bindings for all its instances without adding any new code on the
Python side.
104
14.11 Re-using styles in multiple widgets

Consider the code below in my.kv:
<MyFirstWidget>:
Button:
on_press: self.text(txt_inpt.text)
TextInput:
id: txt_inpt
<MySecondWidget>:
Button:
TextInput:
id: txt_inpt
In myapp.py:
class MyFirstWidget(BoxLayout):
def text(self, val):
print('text input text is: {txt}'.format(txt=val))
class MySecondWidget(BoxLayout):
writing = StringProperty('')
def text(self, val):
self.writing = val
Because both classes share the same .kv style, this design can be simplified if we reuse the style for both
widgets. You can do this in .kv as follows. In my.kv:
<MyFirstWidget,MySecondWidget>:
Button:
TextInput:
id: txt_inpt
By separating the class names with a comma, all the classes listed in the declaration will have the same
kv properties.
14.12 Designing with the Kivy Language

One of aims of the Kivy language is to Separate the concerns of presentation and logic. The presentation
(layout) side is addressed by your kv file and the logic by your py file.
14.12.1 The code goes in py files

Lets start with a little example. First, the Python file named main.py:
import kivy
kivy.require('1.0.5')
from kivy.uix.floatlayout import FloatLayout
from kivy.properties import ObjectProperty, StringProperty
105
class Controller(FloatLayout):
'''Create a controller that receives a custom widget from the kv lang file.
Add an action to be called from the kv lang file.
'''
label_wid = ObjectProperty()
info = StringProperty()
def do_action(self):
self.label_wid.text = 'My label after button press'
self.info = 'New info text'
class ControllerApp(App):
def build(self):
return Controller(info='Hello world')
if __name__ == '__main__':
ControllerApp().run()
In this example, we are creating a Controller class with 2 properties:

info for receving some text
label_wid for receving the label widget
In addition, we are creating a do_action() method that will use both of these properties. It will
change the info text and change text in the label_wid widget.
14.12.2 The layout goes in controller.kv

Executing this application without a corresponding .kv file will work, but nothing will be shown on the
screen. This is expected, because the Controller class has no widgets in it, its just a FloatLayout.
We can create the UI around the Controller class in a file named controller.kv, which will be loaded
when we run the ControllerApp. How this is done and what files are loaded is described in the
kivy.app.App.load_kv() method.
1
#:kivy 1.0
2
3
4
<Controller>:
label_wid: my_custom_label
BoxLayout:
orientation: 'vertical'
padding: 20
6
7
8
9
Button:
text: 'My controller info is: ' + root.info
on_press: root.do_action()
10
11
12
13
Label:
id: my_custom_label
text: 'My label before button press'
14
15
16
One label and one button in a vertical BoxLayout. Seems very simple. There are 3 things going on
here:
106
1. Using data from the Controller. As soon as the info property is changed in the controller,
the expression text: My controller info is: + root.info will automatically
be re-evaluated, changing the text in the Button.
2. Giving data to the Controller. The expression id: my_custom_label is assigning the
created Label the id of my_custom_label. Then, using my_custom_label in the expression label_wid: my_custom_label gives the instance of that Label widget to your
Controller.
3. Creating a custom callback in the Button using the Controllers on_press method.
root and self are reserved keywords, useable anywhere. root represents the top
widget in the rule and self represents the current widget.
You can use any id declared in the rule the same as root and self. For example,
you could do this in the on_press():
Button:
on_press: root.do_action(); my_custom_label.font_size = 18
And thats that. Now when we run main.py, controller.kv will be loaded so that the Button and Label
will show up and respond to our touch events.
107
108
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
INTEGRATING WITH OTHER

FRAMEWORKS
15.1 Using Twisted inside Kivy

Note: You can use the kivy.support.install_twisted_reactor function to install a twisted reactor that will
run inside the kivy event loop.
Any arguments or keyword arguments passed to this function will be passed on the threadedselect reactors interleave function. These are the arguments one would usually pass to twisteds reactor.startRunning
Warning: Unlike the default twisted reactor, the installed reactor will not handle any signals unnless
you set the installSignalHandlers keyword argument to 1 explicitly. This is done to allow kivy to
handle the signals as usual, unless you specifically want the twisted reactor to handle the signals
(e.g. SIGINT).
The kivy examples include a small example of a twisted server and client. The server app has a simple
twisted server running and logs any messages. The client app can send messages to the server and will
print its message and the repsonse it got. The examples are based mostly on the simple Echo example
from the twisted docs, which you can find here:
http://twistedmatrix.com/documents/current/_downloads/simpleserv.py
http://twistedmatrix.com/documents/current/_downloads/simpleclient.py
To try the example, run echo_server_app.py first, and then launch echo_client_app.py. The server will
reply with simple echo messages to anything the client app sends when you hit enter after typing
something in the textbox.
15.1.1 Server App

# install_twisted_rector must be called before importing
from kivy.support import install_twisted_reactor
install_twisted_reactor()
and using the reactor
from twisted.internet import reactor

from twisted.internet import protocol
109
class EchoProtocol(protocol.Protocol):
def dataReceived(self, data):
response = self.factory.app.handle_message(data)
if response:
self.transport.write(response)
class EchoFactory(protocol.Factory):
protocol = EchoProtocol
def __init__(self, app):
self.app = app

class TwistedServerApp(App):
def build(self):
self.label = Label(text="server started\n")
reactor.listenTCP(8000, EchoFactory(self))
return self.label
def handle_message(self, msg):
self.label.text = "received:
%s\n" % msg
if msg == "ping":
msg = "pong"
if msg == "plop":
msg = "kivy rocks"
self.label.text += "responded: %s\n" % msg
return msg
if __name__ == '__main__':
TwistedServerApp().run()
15.1.2 Client App

#install_twisted_rector must be called before importing the reactor
from kivy.support import install_twisted_reactor
install_twisted_reactor()
#A simple Client that send messages to the echo server

from twisted.internet import reactor, protocol
class EchoClient(protocol.Protocol):
def connectionMade(self):
self.factory.app.on_connection(self.transport)
def dataReceived(self, data):
self.factory.app.print_message(data)
110
class EchoFactory(protocol.ClientFactory):
protocol = EchoClient
def __init__(self, app):
self.app = app
def clientConnectionLost(self, conn, reason):
self.app.print_message("connection lost")
def clientConnectionFailed(self, conn, reason):
self.app.print_message("connection failed")
from
from
from
from
kivy.app import App

kivy.uix.textinput import TextInput
# A simple kivy App, with a textbox to enter messages, and

# a large label to display all the messages received from
# the server
class TwistedClientApp(App):
connection = None
def build(self):
root = self.setup_gui()
self.connect_to_server()
return root
def setup_gui(self):
self.textbox = TextInput(size_hint_y=.1, multiline=False)
self.textbox.bind(on_text_validate=self.send_message)
self.label = Label(text='connecting...\n')
self.layout = BoxLayout(orientation='vertical')
self.layout.add_widget(self.label)
self.layout.add_widget(self.textbox)
return self.layout
def connect_to_server(self):
reactor.connectTCP('localhost', 8000, EchoFactory(self))
def on_connection(self, connection):
self.print_message("connected succesfully!")
self.connection = connection
def send_message(self, *args):
msg = self.textbox.text
if msg and self.connection:
self.connection.write(str(self.textbox.text))
self.textbox.text = ""
def print_message(self, msg):
self.label.text += msg + "\n"
if __name__ == '__main__':
TwistedClientApp().run()
111
112
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
BEST PRACTICES
16.1 Designing your Application code
16.2 Handle Window re-sizing
16.3 Managing resources
Atlas
Cache
Images
Text
16.4 Platform consideration

16.5 Tips and Tricks
Skinning
Using Modules
Monitor
Inspector
Screen
Kivy-Remote-Shell
113
114
CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
ADVANCED GRAPHICS
17.1 Create your own Shader
17.2 Rendering in a Framebuffer
17.3 Optimizations
115
116
CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN
PACKAGING YOUR APPLICATION

18.1 Create a package for Windows
Packaging your application for the Windows platform can only be done inside the Windows OS. The
following process has been tested on Windows 7 and the portable package of Kivy.
The package will be either 32 or 64 bits depending on which version of Python you ran it with.
18.1.1 Requirements
Latest Kivy (the whole portable package, not only the github source code)
PyInstaller 3.0 (pip install pyinstaller)
18.1.2 Create the spec file

Note: The following instructions is written for python 2.7, for other versions of python one should
replace all instances of 2.7 or 27 with the appropriate version.
For this example, well package the touchtracer example and embed a custom icon. The touchtracer
example is the kivy27\examples\demo\touchtracer directory and the main file is named main.py.
1. Double click on the Kivy-2.7.bat and a console will open.
2. Create a folder into which the packaged app will be created and create the initial spec. For example create a TouchApp directory in the same directory as Kivy-2.7.bat and do:
cd TouchApp
pyinstaller --name touchtracer ..\kivy27\examples\demo\touchtracer\main.py
You can also add an icon.ico file to the application folder in order to create an icon for the executable. If you dont have a .ico file available, you can convert your icon.png file to ico using the
web app ConvertICO. Save the icon.ico in the touchtracer directory and type:
pyinstaller --name touchtracer --icon ..\kivy27\examples\demo\touchtracer\icon.ico ..\kivy27\
For more options, please consult the PyInstaller 2.1 Manual.

3. The spec file will be touchtracer.spec located in TouchApp. Now we need to edit the spec file to add
kivy hooks to correctly build the exe. Open the spec file with your favorite editor and add theses
lines at the beginning of the spec:
from kivy.tools.packaging.pyinstaller_hooks import get_hooks
import os
117
In the Analysis() function, remove the hookspath=None parameter and the runtime_hooks parameter
if present. get_hooks will return the required values for both parameters, so at the end of Analysis()
add **get_hooks(). E.g.:
a = Analysis(['..\\kivy27\\examples\\demo\\touchtracer\\main.py'],
pathex=['g:\\Python\\dev2\\TouchApp'],
hiddenimports=[],
**get_hooks())
This will add the required hooks so that pyinstaller gets the required kivy files.
Then you need to change the COLLECT() call to add the data for touchtracer (touchtracer.kv, particle.png, ...). Change the line to add a Tree() object. This Tree will search and add every file found
in the touchtracer directory to your final package:
coll = COLLECT( exe, Tree('../kivy27/examples/demo/touchtracer/'),
a.binaries,
#...
)
If SDL2 is used the SDL2 dlls also needs to be included; so add the following Tree object to collect:
Tree([f for f in os.environ.get('KIVY_SDL2_PATH', '').split(';') if 'bin' in f][0])
Note: Until 1.9.0, the windows distribution used PyGame for the core providers. From 1.9.0 and on, the
windows distribution uses SDL2 instead and does not come with a PyGame installation. If youre using
the 1.8.0 package with 1.9.0 or later code, or if youre using the 1.9.0 or later package, but downloaded
and need PyGame in your packaging app, youll have to add the following code to your spec file due
to kivy issue #1638. After the imports add the following:
def getResource(identifier, *args, **kwargs):
if identifier == 'pygame_icon.tiff':
raise IOError()
return _original_getResource(identifier, *args, **kwargs)
import pygame.pkgdata
_original_getResource = pygame.pkgdata.getResource
pygame.pkgdata.getResource = getResource
1. We are done. Your spec is ready to be executed!
18.1.3 Build the spec

1. Double click on Kivy-2.7.bat
2. Go to the TouchApp directory, and build the spec:
cd TouchApp
pyinstaller touchtracer.spec
3. The package will be in the TouchApp\dist\touchtracer directory.
18.1.4 Including Gstreamer

If you wish to use Gstreamer, youll need to further modify the spec file.
1. Kivy does some magic when trying to find which version of gstreamer and its bindings are available. In order for pyinstaller to find the correct gstreamer modules, you have to import core.video
in the spec file before doing anything:
118

import kivy.core.video
2. Youll need to include the gstreamer directory, found in the kivy distribution, in the COLLECT
call. You can specify the direct path, or get it from the environment. In addition, the contents
of the gstreamer/bin directory need to be included in the top level directory, otherwise the build
process may have trouble finding dlls (this will create a second copy of the contents of bin):
import os
gst_plugin_path = os.environ.get('GST_PLUGIN_PATH').split('lib')[0]
COLLECT(exe, Tree(...),
Tree(gst_plugin_path),
Tree(os.path.join(gst_plugin_path, 'bin')),
...)
Following is an example of how to bundle the videoplayer at kivy27/examples/widgets/videoplayer.py.

From kivy-2.7.bat. Create the VideoPlayer directory alongside kivy-2.7.bat:
cd VideoPlayer
pyinstaller --name gstvideo ..\kivy27\examples\widgets\videoplayer.py
Now edit the spec file. At the top of the file add:
import os
import kivy.core.video
gst_plugin_path = os.environ.get('GST_PLUGIN_PATH').split('lib')[0]
Add get_hooks to Analysis(), and change:

coll = COLLECT(exe,
a.binaries,
...
to (remove the SDL2 part if SDL2 is not used):
coll = COLLECT(exe, Tree('../kivy27/examples/widgets'),

Tree([f for f in os.environ.get('KIVY_SDL2_PATH', '').split(';') if 'bin' in f][0]
Tree(gst_plugin_path),
Tree(os.path.join(gst_plugin_path, 'bin')),
a.binaries,
...
This will include gstreamer and the example video files in examples/widgets. To build, run:
pyinstaller gstvideo.spec
Then you should find gstvideo.exe in VideoPlayer\dist\gstvideo, which when run will play a video.
18.2 Create a package for Android

You can create a package for android using the python-for-android project. This page explains how
to download and use it directly on your own machine (see Packaging with python-for-android), use the
prebuilt Kivy Android VM image, or use the Buildozer tool to automate the entire process. You can also
see Packaging your application for the Kivy Launcher to run kivy programs without compiling them.
For new users, we recommend using Buildozer as the easiest way to make a full APK. You can also run
your Kivy app without a compilation step with the Kivy Launcher app.
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Kivy applications can be released on an Android market such as the Play store, with a few extra steps to
create a fully signed APK.
The Kivy project includes tools for accessing Android APIs to accomplish vibration, sensor access, texting etc. These, along with information on debugging on the device, are documented at the main Android page.
NOTE: Currently, packages for Android can only be generated with Python 2.7. Python 3.3+
support is on the way...
18.2.1 Buildozer
Buildozer is a tool that automates the entire build process. It downloads and sets up all the prequisites
for python-for-android, including the android SDK and NDK, then builds an apk that can be automatically pushed to the device.
Buildozer currently works only in Linux, and is an alpha release, but it already works well and can
significantly simplify the apk build.
You can get buildozer at https://github.com/kivy/buildozer:
git clone https://github.com/kivy/buildozer.git
cd buildozer
sudo python2.7 setup.py install
This will install buildozer in your system. Afterwards, navigate to your project directory and run:
buildozer init
This creates a buildozer.spec file controlling your build configuration. You should edit it appropriately
with your app name etc. You can set variables to control most or all of the parameters passed to pythonfor-android.
Finally, plug in your android device and run:
buildozer android debug deploy run
to build, push and automatically run the apk on your device.

Buildozer has many available options and tools to help you, the steps above are just the simplest way
to build and run your APK. The full documentation is available here. You can also check the Buildozer
README at https://github.com/kivy/buildozer.
18.2.2 Packaging with python-for-android

This section describes how to download and use python-for-android directly.
Youll need:
A linux computer or a virtual machine
Java
Python 2.7 (not 2.6.)
Jinja2 (python module)
Apache ant
Android SDK
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Setup Python for Android

First, install the prerequisites needed for the project:
http://python-for-android.readthedocs.org/en/latest/prerequisites/
Then open a console and type:
git clone git://github.com/kivy/python-for-android
Build your distribution

The distribution is a directory containing a specialized python compiled for Android, including only
the modules you asked for. You can, from the same python-for-android, compile multiple distributions.
For example:
One containing a minimal support without audio / video
Another containing audio, openssl etc.
To do that, you must use the script named distribute.sh:
./distribute.sh -m "kivy"
The result of the compilation will be saved into dist/default. Here are other examples of building distributions:
./distribute.sh -m "openssl kivy"
./distribute.sh -m "pil ffmpeg kivy"
Note: The order of modules provided are important, as a general rule put dependencies first and then
the dependent modules, C libs come first then python modules.
To see the available options for distribute.sh, type:
./distribute.sh -h
Note: To use the latest Kivy development version to build your distribution, link P4A_kivy_DIR to
the kivy folder environment variable to the kivy folder location. On linux you would use the export
command, like this:
export P4A_kivy_DIR=/path/to/cloned/kivy/
Package your application

Inside the distribution (dist/default by default), you have a tool named build.py. This is the script that
will create the APK for you:
./build.py --dir <path to your app>
--name "<title>"
--package <org.of.your.app>
--version <human version>
--icon <path to an icon to use>
--orientation <landscape|portrait>
--permission <android permission like VIBRATE> (multiple allowed)
<debug|release> <installd|installr|...>
An example of using multiple permissions:
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--permission INTERNET --permission WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
Full list of available permissions are documented here: http://developer.android.com/reference/android/Manifest.perm

For example, if we imagine that the touchtracer demo of Kivy is in the directory
~/kivy/examples/demo/touchtracer, you can do:
./build.py --dir ~/kivy/examples/demo/touchtracer \
--package org.demo.touchtracer \
--name "Kivy Touchtracer" --version 1.1.0 debug installd
You need to be aware that the default target Android SDK version for the build will be SDK v.8, which
is the minimum required SDK version for kivy. You should either install this API version, or change the
AndroidManifest.xml file (under dist/.../) to match your own target SDK requirements.
The debug binary will be generated in bin/KivyTouchtracer-1.1.0-debug.apk. The debug and installd
parameters are commands from the Android project itself. They instruct build.py to compile the APK in
debug mode and install on the first connected device.
You can then install the APK directly to your Android device as follows:
adb install -r bin/KivyTouchtracer-1.1.0-debug.apk
18.2.3 Packaging your application for the Kivy Launcher

The Kivy launcher is an Android application that runs any Kivy examples stored on your SD Card. To
install the Kivy launcher, you must:
1. Go to the Kivy Launcher page on the Google Play Store
2. Click on Install
3. Select your phone... And youre done!
If you dont have access to the Google Play Store on your phone/tablet, you can download and install
the APK manually from http://kivy.org/#download.
Once the Kivy launcher is installed, you can put your Kivy applications in the Kivy directory in your
external storage directory (often available at /sdcard even in devices where this memory is internal),
e.g.:
/sdcard/kivy/<yourapplication>
<yourapplication> should be a directory containing:

# Your main application file:
main.py
# Some info Kivy requires about your app on android:
android.txt
The file android.txt must contain:

title=<Application Title>
author=<Your Name>
orientation=<portrait|landscape>
These options are just a very basic configuration. If you create your own APK using the tools above,
you can choose many other settings.
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Installation of Examples
Kivy comes with many examples, and these can be a great place to start trying the Kivy launcher. You
can run them as below:
#. Download the `Kivy demos for Android <http://kivy.googlecode.com/files/kivydemo-for-android.zi

#. Unzip the contents and go to the folder `kivydemo-for-android`
#. Copy all the the subfolders here to
/sdcard/kivy
1. Run the launcher and select one of the Pictures, Showcase, Touchtracer, Cymunk or other demos...
18.2.4 Release on the market

If you have built your own APK with Buildozer or with python-for-android, you can create a release
version that may be released on the Play store or other Android markets.
To do this, you must run Buildozer with the release parameter (e.g. buildozer android
release), or if using python-for-android use the --release option to build.py. This creates a release
APK in the bin directory, which you must properly sign and zipalign. The procedure for doing this
is described in the Android documentation at http://developer.android.com/guide/publishing/appsigning.html - all the necessary tools come with the Android SDK.
18.2.5 Targeting Android

Kivy is designed to operate identically across platforms and as a result, makes some clear design decisions. It includes its own set of widgets and by default, builds an APK with all the required core
dependencies and libraries.
It is possible to target specific Android features, both directly and in a (somewhat) cross-platform way.
See the Using Android APIs section of the Kivy on Android documentation for more details.
18.3 The Kivy Android Virtual Machine

18.3.1 Introduction
Currently, Kivy Android applications can only be built in a Linux enironment configured with pythonfor-android, the Android SDK and the Android NDK. As this enviroment in not only tricky to setup
but also impossible on Windows or OS X operating systems, we provide a fully configured VirtualBox
disk image to ease your building woes.
If you are not familiar with virtualization, we encourage you to read the Wikipedia Virtualization page.
18.3.2 Getting started

1. Download the disc image from here, in the Virtual Machine section. The download is >2GB (6GB
after extracted). Extract the file and remember the location of the extracted vdi file.
2. Download the version of VirtualBox for your machine from the VirtualBox download area and
install it.
3. Start VirtualBox, click on New in the left top. Then select linux and Ubuntu 64-bit.
4. Under Hard drive, choose Use an existing virtual hard drive file. Search for your vdi file and
select it.
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5. Go to the Settings for your virtual machine. In the Display -> Video section, increase video
ram to 32mb or above. Enable 3d acceleration to improve the user experience.
6. Start the Virtual machine and follow the instructions in the readme file on the desktop.
18.3.3 Building the APK

Once the VM is loaded, you can follow the instructions from Packaging with python-for-android. You
dont need to download with git clone though, as python-for-android is already installed and set up in
the virtual machine home directory.
18.3.4 Hints and tips

1. Shared folders
Generally, your development environment and toolset are set up on your host machine
but the APK is build in your guest. VirtualBox has a feature called Shared folders
which allows your guest direct access to a folder on your host.
If it often convenient to use this feature (usually with Permanent and Auto-mount options) to copy the built APK to the host machine so it can form part of your normal dev
environment. A simple script can easily automate the build and copy/move process.
2. Copy and paste
By default, you will not be able to share clipboard items between the host and the guest
machine. You can achieve this by enabling the bi-directional shared clipboard option
under Settings -> General -> Advanced.
3. Snapshots
If you are working on the Kivy development branch, pulling the latest version can sometimes break things (as much as we try not to). You can guard against this by taking a
snapshot before pulling. This allows you to easily restore your machine to its previous
state should you have the need.
4. Insufficient memory
Assigning the Virtual Machine insufficient memory may result in the compile failing
with cryptic errors, such as:
arm-linux-androideabi-gcc: Internal error: Killed (program cc1)
If this occurs, please check the amount of free memory in the Kivy VM and increase the
amount of RAM allocated to it if required.
18.4 Kivy on Android

You can run Kivy applications on Android, on (more or less) any device with OpenGL ES 2.0 (Android
2.2 minimum). This is standard on modern devices; Google reports the requirement is met by 99.9% of
devices.
Kivy APKs are normal Android apps that you can distribute like any other, including on stores like
the Play store. They behave properly when paused or restarted, may utilise Android services and have
access to most of the normal java API as described below.
Follow the instructions below to learn how to package your app for Android, debug your code on the device,
and use Android APIs such as for vibration and reading sensors.
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18.4.1 Package for Android

The Kivy project provides all the necessary tools to package your app on Android, including building
your own standalone APK that may be distributed on a market like the Play store. This is covered fully
in the Create a package for Android documentation.
18.4.2 Debugging your application on the Android platform

You can view the normal output of your code (stdout, stderr), as well as the normal Kivy logs, through
the Android logcat stream. This is accessed through adb, provided by the Android SDK. You may need
to enable adb in your devices developer options, then connect your device to your computer and run:
adb logcat
Youll see all the logs including your stdout/stderr and Kivy logger.
If you packaged your app with Buildozer, the adb tool may not be in your $PATH and the above command may not work. You can instead run:
buildozer android logcat
to
run
the
version
installed
by
$HOME/.buildozer/android/platform.
Buildozer,
or
find
the
SDK
tools
at
You can also run and debug your application using the Kivy Launcher. If you run your application this
way, you will find log files inside the /.kivy/logs sub-folder within your application folder.
18.4.3 Using Android APIs

Although Kivy is a Python framework, the Kivy project maintains tools to easily use the normal java
APIs, for everything from vibration to sensors to sending messages through SMS or email.
For new users, we recommend using Plyer. For more advanced access or for APIs not currently
wrapped, you can use Pyjnius directly. Kivy also supplies an android module for basic Android functionality.
User contributed Android code and examples are available on the Kivy wiki.
Plyer
Plyer is a pythonic, platform-independent API to use features commonly found on various platforms,
particularly mobile ones. The idea is that your app can call simply call a Plyer function, such as to
present a notification to the user, and Plyer will take care of doing so in the right way regardless of the
platform or operating system. Internally, Plyer uses Pyjnius (on Android), Pyobjus (on iOS) and some
platform specific APIs on desktop platforms.
For instance, the following code would make your Android device vibrate, or raise a NotImplementedError that you can handle appropriately on other platforms such as desktops that dont have appropriate hardware::
from plyer import vibrator
vibrator.vibrate(10) # vibrate for 10 seconds
Plyers list of supported APIs is growing quite quickly, you can see the full list in the Plyer README.
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Pyjnius
Pyjnius is a Python module that lets you access java classes directly from Python, automatically converting arguments to the right type, and letting you easily convert the java results to Python.
Pyjnius can be obtained from github, and has its own documentation.
Here is a simple example showing Pyjnius ability to access the normal Android vibration API, the same
result of the plyer code above:
# 'autoclass' takes a java class and gives it a Python wrapper
from jnius import autoclass
# Context is a normal java class in the Android API
Context = autoclass('android.content.Context')
# PythonActivity is provided by the Kivy bootstrap app in python-for-android
PythonActivity = autoclass('org.renpy.android.PythonActivity')
# The PythonActivity stores a reference to the currently running activity
# We need this to access the vibrator service
activity = PythonActivity.mActivity
# This is almost identical to the java code for the vibrator
vibrator = activity.getSystemService(Context.VIBRATOR_SERVICE)
vibrator.vibrate(10000)
# The value is in milliseconds - this is 10s
This code directly follows the java API functions to call the vibrator, with Pyjnius automatically translating the api to Python code and our calls back to the equivalent java. It is much more verbose and
java-like than Plyers version, for no benefit in this case, though Plyer does not wrap every API available
to Pyjnius.
Pyjnius also has powerful abilities to implement java interfaces, which is important for wrapping some
APIs, but these are not documented here - you can see Pyjnius own documentation.
Android module
Python-for-android includes a python module (actually cython wrapping java) to access a limited set
of Android APIs. This has been largely superseded by the more flexible Pyjnius and Plyer as above, but
may still occasionally be useful. The available functions are given in the python-for-android documentation.
This includes code for billing/IAP and creating/accessing Android services, which is not yet available
in the other tools above.
18.4.4 Status of the Project and Tested Devices

These sections previously described the existence of Kivys Android build tools, with their limitations
and some devices that were known to work.
The Android tools are now quite stable, and should work with practically any device; our minimum
requirements are OpenGL ES 2.0 and Android 2.2. These are very common now - Kivy has even been
run on an Android smartwatch!
A current technical limitation is that the Android build tools compile only ARM APKs, which will not
run on Android devices with x86 processors (these are currently rare). This should be added soon.
As Kivy works fine on most devices, the list of supported phones/tablets has been retired - all Android
devices are likely to work if they meet the conditions above.
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18.5 Creating packages for OS X

Note: Packaging Kivy applications with the following methods must be done inside OS X, 32-bit
platforms are no longer supported.
18.5.1 Using the Kivy SDK

Since version 1.9.0, Kivy is released for the OS X platform in a self-contained, portable distribution.
Apps can be packaged and distributed with the Kivy SDK using the method described below, making
it easier to include frameworks like SDL2 and GStreamer.
1. Make sure you have the unmodified Kivy SDK (Kivy.app) from the download page.
2. Run the following commands:
> mkdir packaging
> cd packaging
packaging> git clone https://github.com/kivy/kivy-sdk-packager
packaging> cd kivy-sdk-packager/osx
osx> cp -a /Applications/Kivy.app ./Kivy.App
Note: This step above is important, you have to make sure to preserve the paths and
permissions. A command like cp -rf will copy but make the app unusable and lead to
error later on.
3. Now all you need to do is to include your compiled app in the Kivy.app by running the following
command:
osx> ./package-app.sh /path/to/your/<app_folder_name>/
Where <app_folder_name> is the name of your app.

This copies Kivy.app to <app_folder_name>.app and includes a compiled copy of your app
into this package.
4. Thats it, your self-contained package is ready to be deployed! You can now further customize
your app as described bellow.
Shrinking the app size
The app has a considerable size right now, however the unneeded parts can be removed from the
package.
For
example
if
you
dont
use
GStreamer,
simply
remove
it
from
YourApp.app/Contents/Frameworks. Similarly you can remove the examples folder from /Applications/Kivy.app/Contents/Resources/kivy/examples/ or kivy/tools, kivy/docs etc.
This way the package can be made to only include the parts that are needed for your app.
Adjust settings
Icons and other settings of your app can be changed by editing YourApp/Contents/info.plist to suit
your needs.
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Create a DMG
To make a DMG of your app use the following command:
osx> ./create-osx-dmg.sh YourApp.app
This should give you a compressed dmg that will further shrink the size of your distributed app.
18.5.2 Using PyInstaller and Homebrew

Note: Package your app on the oldest OS X version you want to support.
Complete guide
1. Install Homebrew
2. Install Python:
$ brew install python
Note:
To use Python 3, brew install python3 and replace pip with pip3 in the guide below.
3. Install Cython and Kivy:
$ pip install -I Cython==0.21.2
$ USE_OSX_FRAMEWORKS=0 pip install git+https://github.com/kivy/[email protected]
4. (Re)install your dependencies with --build-bottle to make sure they can be used on other
machines:
$ brew reinstall --build-bottle sdl2 sdl2_image sdl2_ttf sdl2_mixer
Note:
If your project depends on GStreamer or additional libraries (re)install them with
--build-bottle as described below.
5. Install additional libraries:
$ brew reinstall --build-bottle gstreamer gst-plugins-{base,good,bad,ugly}
Note:
If your Project needs Ogg Vorbis support be sure to add the --with-libvorbis option to the command above.
Python from Homebrew currently also needs the following patch for GStreamer:
$ brew reinstall --build-bottle https://github.com/cbenhagen/homebrew/raw/patch-3/Library/For
6. Install the development version of PyInstaller which includes fixes for the GStreamer hooks:
$ pip install git+https://github.com/pyinstaller/pyinstaller.git@develop
7. Package your app using the path to your main.py:
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$ pyinstaller -y --clean --windowed --name touchtracer /usr/local/share/kivy-examples/demo/to
Note:
Depending on your system you might want to add --exclude-module _tkinter to
the PyInstaller command.
This will not yet copy additional image or sound files. You would need to adapt the created
.spec file for that.
The specs file is named touchtracer/touchtracer.spec and located inside the pyinstaller directory. Now we
need to edit the spec file to add kivy hooks to correctly build the executable. Open the spec file with
your favorite editor and put these lines at the start of the spec:
In the Analysis() function, remove the hookspath=None parameter and the runtime_hooks parameter if
present. get_hooks will return the required values for both parameters, so at the end of Analysis() add
**get_hooks(). E.g.:
a = Analysis(['/usr/local/share/kivy-examples/demo/touchtracer/main.py'],
pathex=['/Users/kivy-dev/Projects/kivy-packaging'],
binaries=None,
datas=None,
hiddenimports=[],
excludes=None,
win_no_prefer_redirects=None,
win_private_assemblies=None,
cipher=block_cipher,
**get_hooks())
This will add the required hooks so that PyInstaller gets the required Kivy files.
Then, you need to change the COLLECT() call to add the data of touchtracer (touchtracer.kv, particle.png,
...). Change the line to add a Tree() object. This Tree will search and add every file found in the touchtracer directory to your final package.
You will need to tell PyInstaller where to look for the frameworks included with Kivy too, your COLLECT section should look something like this:
coll = COLLECT( exe, Tree('../kivy/examples/demo/touchtracer/'),
We are done. Your spec is ready to be executed!

Build the spec and create a DMG
1. Open a console.
2. Go to the PyInstaller directory, and build the spec:
cd pyinstaller-3.0
kivy pyinstaller.py touchtracer/touchtracer.spec
3. The package will be the touchtracer/dist/touchtracer directory. Rename it to .app:

pushd touchtracer/dist
mv touchtracer touchtracer.app
hdiutil create ./Touchtracer.dmg -srcfolder touchtracer.app -ov
popd
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4. You will now have a Touchtracer.dmg available in the touchtracer/dist directory.
18.6 Create a package for IOS

Note: From the 4th march 2015, the toolchain for iOS has been rewritten. The previous instructions
dont work anymore (using build_all.sh). We strongly recommend you upgrade to the latest toochain
which contains many improvements, including support for i386, x86_64, armv7, arm64 and the iOS
emulators. If you must use the older version, try the old-toolchain tag in git.
Note: Currently, packages for iOS can only be generated with Python 2.7. Python 3.3+ support is on
the way.
The overall process for creating a package for IOS can be explained in 4 steps:
1. Compile python + modules for IOS
2. Create an Xcode project and link your source code
3. Customize
18.6.1 Prerequisites
You need to install some dependencies, like cython, autotools, etc. We encourage you to use Homebrew
to install thoses dependencies:
brew
brew
sudo
sudo
install autoconf automake libtool pkg-config

link libtool
easy_install pip
pip install cython==0.21.2
For more detail, see IOS Prerequisites. Just ensure that everything is ok before starting the second step!
18.6.2 Compile the distribution

Open a terminal, and type:
$ git clone git://github.com/kivy/kivy-ios
$ cd kivy-ios
$ ./toolchain.py build kivy
Most of the python distribution is packed into python27.zip. If you experience any issues, please refer to
our user group or the kivy-ios project page.
18.6.3 Create an Xcode project

Before proceeding to the next step, ensure your application entry point is a file named main.py.
We provide a script that creates an initial Xcode project to start with. In the command line below, replace
test with your project name. It must be a name without any spaces or illegal characters:
$ # ./toolchain.py create <title> <app_directory>
$ ./toolchain.py create Touchtracer ~/code/kivy/examples/demo/touchtracer
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Note: You must use a fully qualified path to your application directory.
A directory named <title>-ios will be created, with an Xcode project in it. You can open the Xcode
project:
$ open touchtracer-ios/touchtracer.xcodeproj
Then click on Play, and enjoy.

Note: Everytime you press Play, your application directory will be synced to the <title>-ios/YourApp
directory. Dont make changes in the -ios directory directly.
18.6.4 Updating an Xcode project

Lets say you want to add numpy to your project, but you didnt have it compiled prior the XCode
project creation. First, ensure to build it:
$ ./toolchain.py build numpy
Then, update your Xcode project:

$ ./toolchain.py update touchtracer-ios
All the libraries / frameworks necessary to run all the compiled recipes will be added to your Xcode
project.
18.6.5 Customize
You can customize the build in many ways:
1. Minimize the build/python/lib/python27.zip: this contains all the python modules. You can edit the
zip file and remove all the files youll not use (reduce encodings, remove xml, email...)
2. Change the icon, orientation, etc... According to the Apple policy :)
3. Go to the settings panel > build, search for strip options, and triple-check that they are all set to
NO. Stripping does not work with Python dynamic modules and will remove needed symbols.
4. Indicate a launch image in portrait/landscape for iPad with and without retina display.
Launch Images are supported. By default, XCode want you to build an Image Sets. This is your responsability to fill all the images needed for the Sets, depending of your target. However, Kivy use SDL,
and as soon as the application starts the SDL main, the launch image will disapear. To prevent that, you
need to have 2 files named Default.png and Default-Landscape.png, and put them in the Resources folder
in Xcode (not in your application folder)
18.6.6 Known issues

Currently, the project has a few known issues (well fix these in future versions):
You cant export your project outside the kivy-ios directory because the libraries included in the
project are relative to it.
Removing some libraries (like SDL_Mixer for audio) is currently not possible because the kivy
project requires it.
And more, just too technical to be written here.
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18.6.7 FAQ
Application quit abnormally!
By default, all the print statements to the console and files are ignored. If you have an issue when
running your application, you can activate the log by commenting out this line in main.m:
putenv("KIVY_NO_CONSOLELOG=1");
Then you should see all the Kivy logging on the Xcode console.
How can Apple accept a python app ?
We managed to merge the app binary with all the libraries into a single binary, called libpython. This
means all binary modules are loaded beforehand, so nothing is dynamically loaded.
Have you already submited a Kivy application to the App store ?
Yes, check:
Defletouch on iTunes,
ProcessCraft on iTunes
For a more complete list, visit the Kivy wiki.
18.7 IOS Prerequisites

The following guide assumes:
XCode 5.1 or above
OS X 10.9 or above
Your experience may vary with different versions.
18.7.1 Getting started

In order to submit any application to the iTunes store, you will need an iOS Developer License. For
testing, you can use a physical device or the XCode iOS emulator.
Please note that in order to test on the device, you need to register these devices and install your provisioning profile on them. Please refer to the Apples Getting started guide for more information.
18.7.2 Homebrew
We use the Homebrew package mananger for OSX to install some of the dependencies and tools used
by Kivy. Its a really helpful tool and is an Open Source project hosted on Github.
Due to the nature of package management (complications with versions and Operating Systems), this
process can be error prone and cause failures in the build process. The Missing requirement: <pkg> is
not installed! message is typically such an error.
The first thing is to ensure you have run the following commands:
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brew
brew
brew
sudo
sudo
install autoconf automake libtool pkg-config mercurial

link libtool
link mercurial
easy_install pip
pip install cython
If you still receive build errors, check your Homebrew is in a healthy state:
brew doctor
For further help, please refer to the Homebrew wiki.

The last, final and desperate step to get things working might be to remove Homebrew altogether, get
the lastest version, install that and then re-install the dependencies.
How to Uninstall and Remove Homebrew for Mac OSX
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Part III
TUTORIALS
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CHAPTER
NINETEEN
PONG GAME TUTORIAL

19.1 Introduction
Welcome to the Pong tutorial
This tutorial will teach you how to write pong using Kivy. Well start with a basic application like the
one described in the Create an application and turn it into a playable pong game, describing each step
along the way.
Here is a check list before starting this tutorial:

You have a working Kivy installation. See the Installation section for detailed descriptions
You know how to run a basic Kivy application. See Create an application if you dont.
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If you have read the programming guide, and understand both basic Widget concepts (A Simple Paint
App) and basic concepts of the kv language (Kv language), you can probably skip the first 2 steps and
go straight to step 3.
Note: You can find the entire source code, and source code files for each step in the Kivy examples
directory under tutorials/pong/
Ready? Sweet, lets get started!
19.2 Getting Started

Getting Started
Lets start by getting a really simple Kivy app up and running. Create a directory for the game and a
file named main.py
1
2

3
4
5
6
class PongGame(Widget):
pass
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8
9
10
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class PongApp(App):
def build(self):
return PongGame()
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14
15
if __name__ == '__main__':
PongApp().run()
Go ahead and run the application. It should just show a black window at this point. What weve done
is create a very simple Kivy App, which creates an instance of our PongGame Widget class and returns
it as the root element for the applications UI, which you should imagine at this point as a hierarchical
tree of Widgets. Kivy places this widget-tree in the default Window. In the next step, we will draw the
Pong background and scores by defining how the PongGame widget looks.
19.3 Add Simple Graphics

Creation of pong.kv
We will use a .kv file to define the look and feel of the PongGame class. Since our App class is called
PongApp, we can simply create a file called pong.kv in the same directory that will be automatically
loaded when the application is run. So create a new file called *pong.kv* and add the following
contents.
1
#:kivy 1.0.9
2
3
4
5
6
7
<PongGame>:
canvas:
Rectangle:
pos: self.center_x - 5, 0
size: 10, self.height
Label:
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10
11
12
13
font_size: 70
center_x: root.width / 4
top: root.top - 50
text: "0"
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15
16
17
18
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Label:
font_size: 70
center_x: root.width * 3 / 4
top: root.top - 50
text: "0"
Note: COMMON ERROR: The name of the kv file, e.g. pong.kv, must match the name of the app, e.g.
PongApp (the part before the App ending).
If you run the app now, you should see a vertical bar in the middle, and two zeros where the player
scores will be displayed.
19.3.1 Explaining the Kv File Syntax

Before going on to the next step, you might want to take a closer look at the contents of the kv file we
just created and figure out what is going on. If you understand whats happening, you can probably
skip ahead to the next step.
On the very first line we have:
#:kivy 1.0.9
This first line is required in every kv file. It should start with #:kivy followed by a space and the
Kivy version it is intended for (so Kivy can make sure you have at least the required version, or handle
backwards compatibility later on).
After that, we begin defining rules that are applied to all PongGame instances:
<PongGame>:
...
Like Python, kv files use indentation to define nested blocks. A block defined with a class name inside
the < and > characters is a Widget rule. It will be applied to any instance of the named class. If you
replaced PongGame with Widget in our example, all Widget instances would have the vertical line and
the two Label widgets inside them because it would define these rules for all Widget instances.
Inside a rule section, you can add various blocks to define the style and contents of the widgets they
will be applied to. You can:
set property values,
add child widgets
define a canvas section in which you can add Graphics instructions that define how the widget is
rendered.
The first block inside the <PongGame> rule we have is a canvas block:
<PongGame>:
canvas:
Rectangle:
pos: self.center_x - 5, 0
So this canvas block says that the PongGame widget should draw some graphics primitives. In this
case, we add a rectangle to the canvas. We set the pos of the rectangle to be 5 pixels left of the horizontal
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center of the widget, and 0 for y. The size of the rectangle is set to 10 pixels in width, and the widgets
height in height. The nice thing about defining the graphics like this, is that the rendered rectangle will
be automatically updated when the properties of any widgets used in the value expression change.
Note: Try to resize the application window and notice what happens. Thats right, the entire UI resizes
automatically. The standard behaviour of the Window is to resize an element based on its property
size_hint. The default widget size_hint is (1,1), meaning it will be stretched 100% in both x-direction
and y-direction and hence fill the available space. Since the pos and size of the rectangle and center_x
and top of the score labels were defined within the context of the PongGame class, these properties will
automatically update when the corresponding widget properties change. Using the Kv language gives
you automatic property binding. :)
The last two sections we add look pretty similar. Each of them adds a Label widget as a child widget
to the PongGame widget. For now, the text on both of them is just set to 0. Well hook that up to the
actual score once we have the logic implemented, but the labels already look good since we set a bigger
font_size, and positioned them relatively to the root widget. The root keyword can be used inside the
child block to refer back to the parent/root widget the rule applies to (PongGame in this case):
<PongGame>:
# ...
Label:
font_size: 70
top: root.top - 50
text: "0"
Label:
font_size: 70
top: root.top - 50
text: "0"
19.4 Add the Ball

Add the Ball
Ok, so we have a basic pong arena to play in, but we still need the players and a ball to hit around. Lets
start with the ball. Well add a new PongBall class to create a widget that will be our ball and make it
bounce around.
19.4.1 PongBall Class

Here is the Python code for the PongBall class:
1
class PongBall(Widget):
# velocity of the ball on x and y axis

velocity_x = NumericProperty(0)
velocity_y = NumericProperty(0)
3
4
5
6
# referencelist property so we can use ball.velocity as

# a shorthand, just like e.g. w.pos for w.x and w.y
velocity = ReferenceListProperty(velocity_x, velocity_y)
7
8
9
10
# ``move`` function will move the ball one step. This
11
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# will be called in equal intervals to animate the ball

def move(self):
self.pos = Vector(*self.velocity) + self.pos
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13
14
And here is the kv rule used to draw the ball as a white circle:
<PongBall>:
size: 50, 50
canvas:
Ellipse:
pos: self.pos
size: self.size
To make it all work, you also have to add the imports for the Properties Property classes used and the
Vector.
Here is the entire updated python code and kv file for this step:
main.py:
1
2
3
4
from
from
from
from
kivy.app import App

kivy.properties import NumericProperty, ReferenceListProperty
kivy.vector import Vector
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
def move(self):
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15
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pass
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class PongApp(App):
def build(self):
return PongGame()
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25
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if __name__ == '__main__':
PongApp().run()
pong.kv:
1
#:kivy 1.0.9
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
<PongBall>:
size: 50, 50
canvas:
Ellipse:
pos: self.pos
size: self.size
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10
11
12
<PongGame>:
canvas:
Rectangle:
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13
14
pos: self.center_x-5, 0
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16
17
18
19
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Label:
font_size: 70
top: root.top - 50
text: "0"
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24
25
26
Label:
font_size: 70
top: root.top - 50
text: "0"
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PongBall:
center: self.parent.center
30
Note that not only a <PongBall> widget rule has been added, but also a child widget PongBall in the
<PongGame> widget rule.
19.5 Adding Ball Animation

Making the ball move
Cool, so now we have a ball, and it even has a move function... but its not moving yet. Lets fix that.
19.5.1 Scheduling Functions on the Clock

We need the move method of our ball to be called regularly. Luckily, Kivy makes this pretty easy by
letting us schedule any function we want using the Clock and specifying the interval:
Clock.schedule_interval(game.update, 1.0/60.0)
This line for example, would cause the update function of the game object to be called once every 60th
of a second (60 times per second).
19.5.2 Object Properties/References

We have another problem though. Wed like to make sure the PongBall has its move function called
regularly, but in our code we dont have any references to the ball object since we just added it via the
kv file inside the kv rule for the PongGame class. The only reference to our game is the one we return
in the applications build method.
Since were going to have to do more than just move the ball (e.g. bounce it off the walls and later the
players racket), well probably need an update method for our PongGame class anyway. Furthermore,
given that we have a reference to the game object already, we can easily schedule its new update
method when the application gets built:
1
def update(self, dt):

# call ball.move and other stuff
pass
3
4
5
6
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class PongApp(App):
def build(self):
game = PongGame()
Clock.schedule_interval(game.update, 1.0/60.0)
return game
9
10
11
12
However, that still doesnt change the fact that we dont have a reference to the PongBall child widget
created by the kv rule. To fix this, we can add an ObjectProperty to the PongGame class, and hook
it up to the widget created in the kv rule. Once thats done, we can easily reference the ball property
inside the update method and even make it bounce off the edges:
1
2
ball = ObjectProperty(None)

self.ball.move()
4
5
6
# bounce off top and bottom

if (self.ball.y < 0) or (self.ball.top > self.height):
self.ball.velocity_y *= -1
7
8
9
10
# bounce off left and right

if (self.ball.x < 0) or (self.ball.right > self.width):
self.ball.velocity_x *= -1
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12
13
Dont forget to hook it up in the kv file, by giving the child widget an id and setting the PongGames
ball ObjectProperty to that id:
<PongGame>:
ball: pong_ball
# ... (canvas and Labels)
PongBall:
id: pong_ball
Note: At this point everything is hooked up for the ball to bounce around. If youre coding along as we
go, you might be wondering why the ball isnt moving anywhere. The balls velocity is set to 0 on both
x and y. In the code listing below, a serve_ball method is added to the PongGame class and called in
the apps build method. It sets a random x and y velocity for the ball, and also resets the position, so
we can use it later to reset the ball when a player has scored a point.
Here is the entire code for this step:
main.py:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

from kivy.properties import NumericProperty, ReferenceListProperty,\
ObjectProperty
from kivy.vector import Vector
from kivy.clock import Clock
from random import randint
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9
10
11
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12
13
14
def move(self):
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def serve_ball(self):
self.ball.center = self.center
self.ball.velocity = Vector(4, 0).rotate(randint(0, 360))
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25

self.ball.move()
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#bounce off top and bottom

if (self.ball.y < 0) or (self.ball.top > self.height):
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#bounce off left and right

if (self.ball.x < 0) or (self.ball.right > self.width):
self.ball.velocity_x *= -1
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37
38
39
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41
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class PongApp(App):
def build(self):
game = PongGame()
game.serve_ball()
Clock.schedule_interval(game.update, 1.0 / 60.0)
return game
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if __name__ == '__main__':
PongApp().run()
pong.kv:
1
#:kivy 1.0.9
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
<PongBall>:
size: 50, 50
canvas:
Ellipse:
pos: self.pos
size: self.size
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10
11
<PongGame>:
ball: pong_ball
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14
15
16
canvas:
Rectangle:
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21
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Label:
font_size: 70
top: root.top - 50
22
text: "0"
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25
26
27
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Label:
font_size: 70
top: root.top - 50
text: "0"
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PongBall:
id: pong_ball
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19.6 Connect Input Events

Adding Players and reacting to touch input
Sweet, our ball is bouncing around. The only things missing now are the movable player rackets and
keeping track of the score. We wont go over all the details of creating the class and kv rules again, since
those concepts were already covered in the previous steps. Instead, lets focus on how to move the
Player widgets in response to user input. You can get the whole code and kv rules for the PongPaddle
class at the end of this section.
In Kivy, a widget can react to input by implementing the on_touch_down, the on_touch_move and
the on_touch_up methods. By default, the Widget class implements these methods by just calling the
corresponding method on all its child widgets to pass on the event until one of the children returns
True.
Pong is pretty simple. The rackets just need to move up and down. In fact its so simple, we dont
even really need to have the player widgets handle the events themselves. Well just implement the
on_touch_move function for the PongGame class and have it set the position of the left or right player
based on whether the touch occurred on the left or right side of the screen.
Check the on_touch_move handler:
1
2
3
4
5

if touch.x < self.width/3:
self.player1.center_y = touch.y
if touch.x > self.width - self.width/3:
Well keep the score for each player in a NumericProperty. The score labels of the PongGame are kept
updated by changing the NumericProperty score, which in turn updates the PongGame child labels
text property. This binding occurs because Kivy properties automatically bind to any references in
their corresponding kv files. When the ball escapes out of the sides, well update the score and serve
the ball again by changing the update method in the PongGame class. The PongPaddle class also
implements a bounce_ball method, so that the ball bounces differently based on where it hits the
racket. Here is the code for the PongPaddle class:
1
class PongPaddle(Widget):
2
3
score = NumericProperty(0)
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5
6
7
8
9
def bounce_ball(self, ball):

if self.collide_widget(ball):
speedup = 1.1
offset = 0.02 * Vector(0, ball.center_y-self.center_y)
ball.velocity = speedup * (offset - ball.velocity)
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Note: This algorithm for ball bouncing is very simple, but will have strange behavior if the ball hits
the paddle from the side or bottom...this is something you could try to fix yourself if you like.
And here it is in context. Pretty much done:
main.py:
1
2
3
4
5
6

from kivy.properties import NumericProperty, ReferenceListProperty,\
ObjectProperty
7
8
9
10
class PongPaddle(Widget):
score = NumericProperty(0)
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14
15
16
17
18
def bounce_ball(self, ball):

if self.collide_widget(ball):
vx, vy = ball.velocity
offset = (ball.center_y - self.center_y) / (self.height / 2)
bounced = Vector(-1 * vx, vy)
vel = bounced * 1.1
ball.velocity = vel.x, vel.y + offset
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23
24
25
26
27
def move(self):
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player1 = ObjectProperty(None)
player2 = ObjectProperty(None)
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37
def serve_ball(self, vel=(4, 0)):

self.ball.center = self.center
self.ball.velocity = vel
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39
40

self.ball.move()
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44
#bounce of paddles
self.player1.bounce_ball(self.ball)
self.player2.bounce_ball(self.ball)
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48
#bounce ball off bottom or top

if (self.ball.y < self.y) or (self.ball.top > self.top):
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50
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52
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#went of to a side to score point?

if self.ball.x < self.x:
self.player2.score += 1
self.serve_ball(vel=(4, 0))
if self.ball.x > self.width:
self.player1.score += 1
self.serve_ball(vel=(-4, 0))
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56
57

if touch.x < self.width / 3:
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if touch.x > self.width - self.width / 3:

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70
class PongApp(App):
def build(self):
game = PongGame()
game.serve_ball()
Clock.schedule_interval(game.update, 1.0 / 60.0)
return game
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if __name__ == '__main__':
PongApp().run()
pong.kv:
1
#:kivy 1.0.9
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
<PongBall>:
size: 50, 50
canvas:
Ellipse:
pos: self.pos
size: self.size
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10
11
12
13
14
15
<PongPaddle>:
size: 25, 200
canvas:
Rectangle:
pos:self.pos
size:self.size
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20
<PongGame>:
ball: pong_ball
player1: player_left
player2: player_right
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22
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25
canvas:
Rectangle:
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30
31
Label:
font_size: 70
top: root.top - 50
text: str(root.player1.score)
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33
34
35
Label:
font_size: 70
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top: root.top - 50
text: str(root.player2.score)
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37
38
PongBall:
id: pong_ball
39
40
41
42
PongPaddle:
id: player_left
43
44
x: root.x
center_y: root.center_y
45
46
47
PongPaddle:
id: player_right
48
49
x: root.width-self.width
center_y: root.center_y
50
51
52
19.7 Where To Go Now?

Have some fun
Well, the pong game is pretty much complete. If you understood all of the things that are covered in
this tutorial, give yourself a pat on the back and think about how you could improve the game. Here
are a few ideas of things you could do:
Add
some
nicer
graphics
/
images.
(Hint:
check
out
the
:attribute:~kivy.graphics.instructions.Instruction.source property on the graphics instructions
like Circle or Rectangle, to set an image as the texture.)
Make the game end after a certain score. Maybe once a player has 10 points, you can display
a large PLAYER 1 WINS label and/or add a main menu to start, pause and reset the game.
(Hint: check out the Button and Label classes, and figure out how to use their add_widget and
remove_widget functions to add or remove widgets dynamically.
Make it a 4 player Pong Game. Most tablets have Multi-Touch support, so wouldnt it be cool to
have a player on each side and have four people play at the same time?
Fix the simplistic collision check so hitting the ball with an end of the paddle results in a more
realistic bounce.
Note: You can find the entire source code and source code files for each step in the Kivy examples
directory under tutorials/pong/
148
CHAPTER
TWENTY
A SIMPLE PAINT APP

In the following tutorial, you will be guided through the creation of your first widget. This provides
powerful and important knowledge when programming Kivy applications, as it lets you create completely new user interfaces with custom elements for your specific purpose.
20.1 Basic Considerations

When creating an application, you have to ask yourself three important questions:
What data does my application process?
How do I visually represent that data?
How does the user interact with that data?
If you want to write a very simple line drawing application for example, you most likely want the user
to just draw on the screen with his/her fingers. Thats how the user interacts with your application.
While doing so, your application would memorize the positions where the users finger were, so that
you can later draw lines between those positions. So the points where the fingers were would be your
data and the lines that you draw between them would be your visual representation.
In Kivy, an applications user interface is composed of Widgets. Everything that you see on the screen is
somehow drawn by a widget. Often you would like to be able to reuse code that you already wrote in a
different context, which is why widgets typically represent one specific instance that answers the three
questions above. A widget encapsulates data, defines the users interaction with that data and draws
its visual representation. You can build anything from simple to complex user interfaces by nesting
widgets. There are many widgets built in, such as buttons, sliders and other common stuff. In many
cases, however, you need a custom widget that is beyond the scope of what is shipped with Kivy (e.g.
a medical visualization widget).
So keep these three questions in mind when you design your widgets. Try to write them in a minimal
and reusable manner (i.e. a widget does exactly what its supposed to do and nothing more. If you need
more, write more widgets or compose other widgets of smaller widgets. We try to adhere to the Single
Responsibility Principle).
20.2 Paint Widget

Were sure one of your childhood dreams has always been creating your own multitouch paint program.
Allow us to help you achieve that. In the following sections you will successively learn how to write a
program like that using Kivy. Make sure that you have read and understood Create an application. You
have? Great! Lets get started!
149
20.2.1 Initial Structure

Lets start by writing the very basic code structure that we need. By the way, all the different pieces of
code that are used in this section are also available in the examples/guide/firstwidget directory
that comes with Kivy, so you dont need to copy & paste it all the time. Here is the basic code skeleton
that we will need:
1
2

3
4
5
6
class MyPaintWidget(Widget):
pass
7
8
9
10
11
class MyPaintApp(App):
def build(self):
return MyPaintWidget()
12
13
14
15
if __name__ == '__main__':
MyPaintApp().run()
This is actually really simple. Save it as paint.py. If you run it, you should only see a black screen. As
you can see, instead of using a built-in widget such as a Button (see Create an application), we are going to
write our own widget to do the drawing. We do that by creating a class that inherits from Widget (line
5-6) and although that class does nothing yet, we can still treat it like a normal Kivy widget (line 11).
The if __name__ ... construct (line 14) is a Python mechanism that prevents you from executing
the code in the if-statement when importing from the file, i.e. if you write import paint, it wont do
something unexpected but just nicely provide the classes defined in the file.
Note: You may be wondering why you have to import App and Widget separately, instead of doing
something like from kivy import *. While shorter, this would have the disadvantage of polluting
your namespace and make the start of the application potentially much slower. It can also introduce
ambiguity into class and variable naming, so is generally frowned upon in the Python community. The
way we do it is faster and cleaner.
20.2.2 Adding Behaviour

Lets now add some actual behaviour to the widget, i.e. make it react to user input. Change the code
like so:
1
2

3
4
5
6
7
print(touch)
8
9
10
11
12
def build(self):
13
14
150
15
16
if __name__ == '__main__':
MyPaintApp().run()
This is just to show how easy it is to react to user input. When a MotionEvent (i.e. a touch, click, etc.)
occurs, we simply print the information about the touch object to the console. You wont see anything
on the screen, but if you observe the command-line from which you are running the program, you will
see a message for every touch. This also demonstrates that a widget does not have to have a visual
representation.
Now thats not really an overwhelming user experience. Lets add some code that actually draws something into our window:
1
2
3

from kivy.graphics import Color, Ellipse
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

with self.canvas:
Color(1, 1, 0)
d = 30.
Ellipse(pos=(touch.x - d / 2, touch.y - d / 2), size=(d, d))
13
14
15
16
17
18
def build(self):
19
20
21
22
if __name__ == '__main__':
MyPaintApp().run()
If you run your code with these modifications, you will see that every time you touch, there will be a
small yellow circle drawn where you touched. How does it work?
Line 9: We use Pythons with statement with the widgets Canvas object. This is like an area in
which the widget can draw things to represent itself on the screen. By using the with statement
151
with it, all successive drawing commands that are properly indented will modify this canvas. The
with statement also makes sure that after our drawing, internal state can be cleaned up properly.
Line 10: You might have guessed it already: This sets the Color for successive drawing operations
to yellow (default color format is RGB, so (1, 1, 0) is yellow). This is true until another Color is
set. Think of this as dipping your brushes in that color, which you can then use to draw on a
canvas until you dip the brushes into another color.
Line 11: We specify the diameter for the circle that we are about to draw. Using a variable for
that is preferable since we need to refer to that value multiple times and we dont want to have to
change it in several places if we want the circle bigger or smaller.
Line 12: To draw a circle, we simply draw an Ellipse with equal width and height. Since we
want the circle to be drawn where the user touches, we pass the touchs position to the ellipse.
Note that we need to shift the ellipse by -d/2 in the x and y directions (i.e. left and downwards)
because the position specifies the bottom left corner of the ellipses bounding box, and we want it
to be centered around our touch.
That was easy, wasnt it? It gets better! Update the code to look like this:
1
2
3

from kivy.graphics import Color, Ellipse, Line
4
5
6

with self.canvas:
Color(1, 1, 0)
d = 30.
touch.ud['line'] = Line(points=(touch.x, touch.y))
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

touch.ud['line'].points += [touch.x, touch.y]
15
16
17
18
19
20
def build(self):
21
22
23
24
25
26
if __name__ == '__main__':
MyPaintApp().run()
152
This is what has changed:

Line 3: We now not only import the Ellipse drawing instruction, but also the Line drawing instruction. If you look at the documentation for Line, you will see that it accepts a
points argument that has to be a list of 2D point coordinates, like (x1, y1, x2, y2,
..., xN, yN).
Line 13: This is where it gets interesting. touch.ud is a Python dictionary (type <dict>) that
allows us to store custom attributes for a touch.
Line 13: We make use of the Line instruction that we imported and set a Line up for drawing. Since this is done in on_touch_down, there will be a new line for every new touch.
By creating the line inside the with block, the canvas automatically knows about the line
and will draw it. We just want to modify the line later, so we store a reference to it in the
touch.ud dictionary under the arbitrarily chosen but aptly named key line. We pass the
line that were creating the initial touch position because thats where our line will begin.
Lines 15: We add a new method to our widget. This is similar to the on_touch_down
method, but instead of being called when a new touch occurs, this method is being called
when an existing touch (for which on_touch_down was already called) moves, i.e. its position changes. Note that this is the same MotionEvent object with updated attributes. This
is something we found incredibly handy and you will shortly see why.
Line 16: Remember: This is the same touch object that we got in on_touch_down, so we can
simply access the data we stored away in the touch.ud dictionary! To the line we set up for
this touch earlier, we now add the current position of the touch as a new point. We know that
we need to extend the line because this happens in on_touch_move, which is only called
when the touch has moved, which is exactly why we want to update the line. Storing the line
in the touch.ud makes it a whole lot easier for us as we dont have to maintain our own
touch-to-line bookkeeping.
So far so good. This isnt exactly beautiful yet, though. It looks a bit like spaghetti bolognese. How
about giving each touch its own color? Great, lets do it:
1
2
3
4
from
from
from
from
random import random

kivy.app import App
kivy.graphics import Color, Ellipse, Line
5
6
153

color = (random(), random(), random())
with self.canvas:
Color(*color)
d = 30.
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

17
18
19
20
21
22
def build(self):
23
24
25
26
27
28
if __name__ == '__main__':
MyPaintApp().run()
Here are the changes:

Line 1: We import Pythons random() function that will give us random values in the range of [0.,
1.).
Line 10: In this case we simply create a new tuple of 3 random float values that will represent a
random RGB color. Since we do this in on_touch_down, every new touch will get its own color.
Dont get confused by the use of tuples. Were just binding the tuple to color for use as a shortcut
within this method because were lazy.
Line 12: As before, we set the color for the canvas. Only this time we use the random values
we generated and feed them to the color class using Pythons tuple unpacking syntax (since the
Color class expects three individual color components instead of just 1. If we were to pass the
tuple directly, that would be just 1 value being passed, regardless of the fact that the tuple itself
contains 3 values).
This looks a lot nicer already! With a lot of skill and patience, you might even be able to create a nice
154
little drawing!
Note: Since by default the Color instructions assume RGB mode and were feeding a tuple with three
random float values to it, it might very well happen that we end up with a lot of dark or even black
colors if we are unlucky. That would be bad because by default the background color is dark as well, so
you wouldnt be able to (easily) see the lines you draw. There is a nice trick to prevent this: Instead of
creating a tuple with three random values, create a tuple like this: (random(), 1., 1.). Then, when
passing it to the color instruction, set the mode to HSV color space: Color(*color, mode=hsv).
This way you will have a smaller number of possible colors, but the colors that you get will always be
equally bright: only the hue changes.
20.2.3 Bonus Points

At this point, we could say we are done. The widget does what its supposed to do: it traces the touches
and draws lines. It even draws circles at the positions where a line begins.
But what if the user wants to start a new drawing? With the current code, the only way to clear the
window would be to restart the entire application. Luckily, we can do better. Let us add a Clear button
that erases all the lines and circles that have been drawn so far. There are two options now:
We could either create the button as a child of our widget. That would imply that if you create
more than one widget, every widget gets its own button. If youre not careful, this will also allow
users to draw on top of the button, which might not be what you want.
Or we set up the button only once, initially, in our app class and when its pressed we clear the
widget.
For our simple example, it doesnt really matter that much. For larger applications you should give
some thought to who does what in your app. Well go with the second option here so that you see how
you can build up your applications widget tree in your app classs build() method. Well also change
to the HSV color space (see preceding note):
1
2
3
4
5
from
from
from
from
from
random import random

kivy.app import App
kivy.graphics import Color, Ellipse, Line
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

color = (random(), 1, 1)
with self.canvas:
Color(*color, mode='hsv')
d = 30.
17
18
19

20
21
22
23
24
25
26
def build(self):
parent = Widget()
self.painter = MyPaintWidget()
155
clearbtn = Button(text='Clear')
clearbtn.bind(on_release=self.clear_canvas)
parent.add_widget(self.painter)
parent.add_widget(clearbtn)
return parent
27
28
29
30
31
32
def clear_canvas(self, obj):

self.painter.canvas.clear()
33
34
35
36
37
38
if __name__ == '__main__':
MyPaintApp().run()
Heres what happens:

Line 4: We added an import statement to be able to use the Button class.
Line 25: We create a dummy Widget() object as a parent for both our painting widget and the
button were about to add. This is just a poor-mans approach to setting up a widget tree hierarchy.
We could just as well use a layout or do some other fancy stuff. Again: this widget does absolutely
nothing except holding the two widgets we will now add to it as children.
Line 26: We create our MyPaintWidget() as usual, only this time we dont return it directly but
bind it to a variable name.
Line 27: We create a button widget. It will have a label on it that displays the text Clear.
Line 28: We then bind the buttons on_release event (which is fired when the button is pressed
and then released) to the callback function clear_canvas defined on below on Lines 33 & 34.
Line 29 & 30: We set up the widget hierarchy by making both the painter and the clearbtn children of the dummy parent widget. That means painter and clearbtn are now siblings in the usual
computer science tree terminology.
Line 33 & 34: Up to now, the button did nothing. It was there, visible, and you could press it,
but nothing would happen. We change that here: we create a small, throw-away function that is
going to be our callback function when the button is pressed. The function just clears the painters
canvas contents, making it black again.
Note: The Kivy Widget class, by design, is kept simple. There are no general properties such as background color and border color. Instead, the examples and documentation illustrate how to easily handle
156
such simple things yourself, as we have done here, setting the color for the canvas, and drawing the
shape. From a simple start, you can move to more elaborate customization. Higher-level built-in widgets, deriving from Widget, such as Button, do have convenience properties such as background_color,
but these vary by widget. Use the API docs to see what is offered by a widget, and subclass if you need
to add more functionality.
Congratulations! Youve written your first Kivy widget. Obviously this was just a quick introduction.
There is much more to discover. We suggest taking a short break to let what you just learned sink in.
Maybe draw some nice pictures to relax? If you feel like youve understood everything and are ready
for more, we encourage you to read on.
157
158
Part IV
API REFERENCE
The API reference is a lexicographic list of all the different classes, methods and features that Kivy
offers.
159
160
CHAPTER
TWENTYONE
KIVY FRAMEWORK
Kivy is an open source library for developing multi-touch applications. It is cross-platform
(Linux/OSX/Windows/Android/iOS) and released under the terms of the MIT License.
It comes with native support for many multi-touch input devices, a growing library of multi-touch
aware widgets and hardware accelerated OpenGL drawing. Kivy is designed to let you focus on building custom and highly interactive applications as quickly and easily as possible.
With Kivy, you can take full advantage of the dynamic nature of Python. There are thousands of highquality, free libraries that can be integrated in your application. At the same time, performance-critical
parts are implemented using Cython.
See http://kivy.org for more information.
kivy.require(version)
Require can be used to check the minimum version required to run a Kivy application. For example, you can start your application code like this:
import kivy
If a user attempts to run your application with a version of Kivy that is older than the specified
version, an Exception is raised.
The Kivy version string is built like this:
X.Y.Z[-tag[-tagrevision]]
X is the major version
Y is the minor version
Z is the bugfixes revision
The tag is optional, but may be one of dev, alpha, or beta. The tagrevision is the revision of
the tag.
Warning: You must not ask for a version with a tag, except -dev. Asking for a dev version will
just warn the user if the current Kivy version is not a -dev, but it will never raise an exception.
You must not ask for a version with a tagrevision.
kivy.kivy_configure()
Call post-configuration of Kivy. This function must be called if you create the window yourself.
kivy.kivy_register_post_configuration(callback)
Register a function to be called when kivy_configure() is called.
Warning: Internal use only.
161
kivy.kivy_options = {text: (pil, sdl2, pygame, sdlttf), image: (tex, imageio, dds, gif, sdl2, pygame,
Global settings options for kivy
kivy.kivy_base_dir = /home/travis/build/kivy/kivy/kivy
Kivy directory
kivy.kivy_modules_dir = /home/travis/build/kivy/kivy/kivy/modules
Kivy modules directory
kivy.kivy_data_dir = /home/travis/build/kivy/kivy/kivy/data
Kivy data directory
kivy.kivy_shader_dir = /home/travis/build/kivy/kivy/kivy/data/glsl
Kivy glsl shader directory
kivy.kivy_icons_dir = /home/travis/build/kivy/kivy/kivy/data/icons/
Kivy icons config path (dont remove the last )
kivy.kivy_home_dir =
Kivy user-home storage directory
kivy.kivy_userexts_dir =
Kivy user extensions directory
kivy.kivy_config_fn =
Kivy configuration filename
kivy.kivy_usermodules_dir =
Kivy user modules directory

class kivy.weakproxy.WeakProxy
Bases: builtins.object
Replacement for weakref.proxy to support comparisons
21.3 Animation
Animation and AnimationTransition are used to animate Widget properties. You must specify
at least a property name and target value. To use an Animation, follow these steps:
Setup an Animation object
Use the Animation object on a Widget
21.3.1 Simple animation

To animate a Widgets x or y position, simply specify the target x/y values where you want the widget
positioned at the end of the animation:
anim = Animation(x=100, y=100)
anim.start(widget)
The animation will last for 1 second unless duration is specified. When anim.start() is called, the
Widget will move smoothly from the current x/y position to (100, 100).
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21.3.2 Multiple properties and transitions

You can animate multiple properties and use built-in or custom transition functions using transition
(or the t= shortcut). For example, to animate the position and size using the in_quad transition:
anim = Animation(x=50, size=(80, 80), t='in_quad')
anim.start(widget)
Note that the t= parameter can be the string name of a method in the AnimationTransition class or
your own animation function.
21.3.3 Sequential animation

To join animations sequentially, use the + operator. The following example will animate to x=50 over
1 second, then animate the size to (80, 80) over the next two seconds:
anim = Animation(x=50) + Animation(size=(80, 80), duration=2.)
anim.start(widget)
21.3.4 Parallel animation

To join animations in parallel, use the & operator. The following example will animate the position to
(80, 10) over 1 second, whilst in parallel animating the size to (800, 800):
anim = Animation(pos=(80, 10))
anim &= Animation(size=(800, 800), duration=2.)
anim.start(widget)
Keep in mind that creating overlapping animations on the same property may have unexpected results.
If you want to apply multiple animations to the same property, you should either schedule them sequentially (via the + operator or using the on_complete callback) or cancel previous animations using
the cancel_all method.
21.3.5 Repeating animation

Note: This is currently only implemented for Sequence animations.
To set an animation to repeat, simply set the Sequence.repeat property to True:
anim = Animation(...) + Animation(...)
anim.repeat = True
anim.start(widget)
For flow control of animations such as stopping and cancelling, use the methods already in place in the
animation module.
class kivy.animation.Animation(**kw)
Bases: kivy.event.EventDispatcher
Create an animation definition that can be used to animate a Widget.
Parameters
duration or d: float, defaults to 1.Duration of the animation, in seconds.
163
transition or t: str or funcTransition function for animate properties. It can be the

name of a method from AnimationTransition.
step or s: floatStep in milliseconds of the animation. Defaults to 1 / 60.
Events
on_start: widgetFired when the animation is started on a widget.
on_complete: widgetFired when the animation is completed or stopped on a widget.
on_progress: widget, progressionFired when the progression of the animation is
changing.
Changed in version 1.4.0: Added s/step parameter.
animated_properties
Return the properties used to animate.
cancel(widget)
Cancel the animation previously applied to a widget. Same effect as stop, except the
on_complete event will not be triggered!
static cancel_all(widget, *largs)
Cancel all animations that concern a specific widget / list of properties. See cancel.
Example:
anim = Animation(x=50)
anim.start(widget)
# and later
Animation.cancel_all(widget, 'x')

cancel_property(widget, prop)
Even if an animation is running, remove a property. It will not be animated further. If it was
the only/last property being animated, the animation will be canceled (see cancel)
duration
Return the duration of the animation.
have_properties_to_animate(widget)
Return True if a widget still has properties to animate.
start(widget)
Start the animation on a widget.
stop(widget)
Stop the animation previously applied to a widget, triggering the on_complete event.
static stop_all(widget, *largs)
Stop all animations that concern a specific widget / list of properties.
Example:
anim = Animation(x=50)
anim.start(widget)
164
# and later
Animation.stop_all(widget, 'x')
stop_property(widget, prop)
Even if an animation is running, remove a property. It will not be animated futher. If it was
the only/last property being animated, the animation will be stopped (see stop).
transition
Return the transition of the animation.
class kivy.animation.AnimationTransition
Collection of animation functions to be used with the Animation object.
Easing Functions ported to Kivy from the Clutter Project http://www.clutterproject.org/docs/clutter/stable/ClutterAlpha.html
The progress parameter in each animation function is in the range 0-1.
static in_back(progress)
static in_bounce(progress)
static in_circ(progress)
static in_cubic(progress)
165
static in_elastic(progress)
static in_expo(progress)
static in_out_back(progress)
static in_out_bounce(progress)
166
static in_out_circ(progress)
static in_out_cubic(progress)
static in_out_elastic(progress)
static in_out_expo(progress)
167
static in_out_quad(progress)
static in_out_quart(progress)
static in_out_quint(progress)
static in_out_sine(progress)
168
static in_quad(progress)
static in_quart(progress)
static in_quint(progress)
static in_sine(progress)
169
static linear(progress)
static out_back(progress)
static out_bounce(progress)
static out_circ(progress)
170
static out_cubic(progress)
static out_elastic(progress)
static out_expo(progress)
static out_quad(progress)
171
static out_quart(progress)
static out_quint(progress)
static out_sine(progress)
21.4 Application
The App class is the base for creating Kivy applications. Think of it as your main entry point into the
Kivy run loop. In most cases, you subclass this class and make your own app. You create an instance of
your specific app class and then, when you are ready to start the applications life cycle, you call your
instances App.run() method.
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21.4.1 Creating an Application

Method using build() override
To initialize your app with a widget tree, override the build() method in your app class and return
the widget tree you constructed.
Heres an example of a very simple application that just shows a button:
'''
Application example using build() + return
==========================================
An application can be built if you return a widget on build(), or if you set
self.root.
'''
import kivy
from kivy.uix.button import Button
class TestApp(App):
def build(self):
# return a Button() as a root widget
return Button(text='hello world')
if __name__ == '__main__':
TestApp().run()
The file is also available in the examples folder at kivy/examples/application/app_with_build.py.

Here, no widget tree was constructed (or if you will, a tree with only the root node).
Method using kv file
You can also use the Kivy Language for creating applications. The .kv can contain rules and root widget
definitions at the same time. Here is the same example as the Button one in a kv file.
Contents of test.kv:
#:kivy 1.0
Button:
text: 'Hello from test.kv'
Contents of main.py:
'''
Application built from a .kv file
==================================
This shows how to implicitly use a .kv file for your application. You
should see a full screen button labelled "Hello from test.kv".
After Kivy instantiates a subclass of App, it implicitly searches for a .kv
file. The file test.kv is selected because the name of the subclass of App is
173
TestApp, which implies that kivy should try to load "test.kv". That file
contains a root Widget.
'''
import kivy
class TestApp(App):
pass
if __name__ == '__main__':
TestApp().run()
See kivy/examples/application/app_with_kv.py.
The relationship between main.py and test.kv is explained in App.load_kv().
21.4.2 Application configuration

Use the configuration file
Your application might need its own configuration file. The App class handles ini files automatically
if you add the section key-value pair to the App.build_config() method using the config parameter
(an instance of ConfigParser):
class TestApp(App):
def build_config(self, config):
config.setdefaults('section1', {
'key1': 'value1',
'key2': '42'
})
As soon as you add one section to the config, a file is created on the disk (see
get_application_config for its location) and named based your class name. TestApp
will give a config file named test.ini with the content:
[section1]
key1 = value1
key2 = 42
The test.ini will be automatically loaded at runtime and you can access the configuration in your
App.build() method:
class TestApp(App):
def build_config(self, config):
config.setdefaults('section1', {
'key1': 'value1',
'key2': '42'
})
def build(self):
config = self.config
return Label(text='key1 is %s and key2 is %d' % (
config.get('section1', 'key1'),
config.getint('section1', 'key2')))
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Create a settings panel

Your application can have a settings panel to let your user configure some of your config tokens. Here
is an example done in the KinectViewer example (available in the examples directory):
You can add your own panels of settings by extending the App.build_settings() method. Check
the Settings about how to create a panel, because you need a JSON file / data first.
Lets take as an example the previous snippet of TestApp with custom config. We could create a JSON
like this:
[
{ "type": "title",
"title": "Test application" },
{ "type": "options",
"title": "My first key",
"desc": "Description of my first key",
"section": "section1",
"key": "key1",
"options": ["value1", "value2", "another value"] },
{ "type": "numeric",
"title": "My second key",
"desc": "Description of my second key",
"section": "section1",
"key": "key2" }
]
Then, we can create a panel using this JSON to automatically create all the options and link them to our
App.config ConfigParser instance:
class TestApp(App):
# ...
def build_settings(self, settings):
jsondata = """... put the json data here ..."""
settings.add_json_panel('Test application',
self.config, data=jsondata)
Thats all! Now you can press F1 (default keystroke) to toggle the settings panel or press the
settings key on your android device. You can manually call App.open_settings() and
App.close_settings() if you want to handle this manually. Every change in the panel is automatically saved in the config file.
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You can also use App.build_settings() to modify properties of the settings panel. For instance,
the default panel has a sidebar for switching between json panels whose width defaults to 200dp. If
youd prefer this to be narrower, you could add:
settings.interface.menu.width = dp(100)
to your build_settings() method.

You might want to know when a config value has been changed by the user in order to adapt or reload
your UI. You can then overload the on_config_change() method:
class TestApp(App):
# ...
def on_config_change(self, config, section, key, value):
if config is self.config:
token = (section, key)
if token == ('section1', 'key1'):
print('Our key1 have been changed to', value)
elif token == ('section1', 'key2'):
print('Our key2 have been changed to', value)
The Kivy configuration panel is added by default to the settings instance. If you dont want this panel,
you can declare your Application as follows:
class TestApp(App):
use_kivy_settings = False
# ...
This only removes the Kivy panel but does not stop the settings instance from appearing. If you want
to prevent the settings instance from appearing altogether, you can do this:
class TestApp(App):
def open_settings(self, *largs):
pass
21.4.3 Profiling with on_start and on_stop

It is often useful to profile python code in order to discover locations to optimise. The standard library profilers (http://docs.python.org/2/library/profile.html) provides multiple options for profiling code. For profiling the entire program, the natural approaches of using profile as a module or
profiles run method does not work with Kivy. It is however, possible to use App.on_start() and
App.on_stop() methods:
import cProfile
class MyApp(App):
def on_start(self):
self.profile = cProfile.Profile()
self.profile.enable()
def on_stop(self):
self.profile.disable()
self.profile.dump_stats('myapp.profile')
This will create a file called myapp.profile when you exit your app.
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21.4.4 Customising layout

You can choose different settings widget layouts by setting App.settings_cls. By default, this is a
Settings class which provides the pictured sidebar layout, but you could set it to any of the other
layouts provided in kivy.uix.settings or create your own. See the module documentation for
kivy.uix.settings for more information.
You can customise how the settings panel is displayed by overriding App.display_settings()
which is called before displaying the settings panel on the screen. By default, it simply draws the
panel on top of the window, but you could modify it to (for instance) show the settings in a Popup
or add it to your apps ScreenManager if you are using one. If you do so, you should also modify
App.close_settings() to exit the panel appropriately. For instance, to have the settings panel
appear in a popup you can do:
def display_settings(self, settings):
try:
p = self.settings_popup
except AttributeError:
self.settings_popup = Popup(content=settings,
title='Settings',
size_hint=(0.8, 0.8))
if p.content is not settings:
p.content = settings
p.open()
def close_settings(self, *args):
try:
p.dismiss()
except AttributeError:
pass # Settings popup doesn't exist
Finally, if you want to replace the current settings panel widget, you can remove the internal references to it using App.destroy_settings(). If you have modified App.display_settings(),
you should be careful to detect if the settings panel has been replaced.
21.4.5 Pause mode

On tablets and phones, the user can switch at any moment to another application. By default, your
application will close and the App.on_stop() event will be fired.
If you support Pause mode, when switching to another application, your application will wait indefinitely until the user switches back to your application. There is an issue with OpenGL on Android
devices: it is not guaranteed that the OpenGL ES Context will be restored when your app resumes. The
mechanism for restoring all the OpenGL data is not yet implemented in Kivy.
The currently implemented Pause mechanism is:
1. Kivy checks every frame if Pause mode is activated by the Operating System due to the user
switching to another application, a phone shutdown or any other reason.
2. App.on_pause() is called:
3. If False is returned (default case), then App.on_stop() is called.
4. Otherwise the application will sleep until the OS resumes our App
5. When the app is resumed, App.on_resume() is called.
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6. If our app memory has been reclaimed by the OS, then nothing will be called.
Here is a simple example of how on_pause() should be used:
class TestApp(App):
def on_pause(self):
# Here you can save data if needed
return True
def on_resume(self):
# Here you can check if any data needs replacing (usually nothing)
pass
Warning: Both on_pause and on_stop must save important data because after on_pause is called,
on_resume may not be called at all.
class kivy.app.App(**kwargs)
Application class, see module documentation for more information.
Events
on_start:Fired when the application is being started (before the runTouchApp()
call.
on_stop:Fired when the application stops.
on_pause:Fired when the application is paused by the OS.
on_resume:Fired when the application is resumed from pause by the OS. Beware:
you have no guarantee that this event will be fired after the on_pause event has
been called.
Changed in version 1.7.0: Parameter kv_file added.
Changed in version 1.8.0: Parameters kv_file and kv_directory are now properties of App.
build()
Initializes the application; it will be called only once. If this method returns a widget (tree),
it will be used as the root widget and added to the window.
ReturnsNone or a root Widget instance if no self.root exists.
build_config(config)
This method is called before the application is initialized to construct your ConfigParser
object. This is where you can put any default section / key / value for your config.
If anything is set, the configuration will be automatically saved in the file returned by
get_application_config().
Parameters
config: ConfigParserUse this to add default section / key / value items
build_settings(settings)
This method is called when the user (or you) want to show the application settings. It is
called once when the settings panel is first opened, after which the panel is cached. It may
be called again if the cached settings panel is removed by destroy_settings().
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You can use this method to add settings panels and to customise the settings widget e.g. by
changing the sidebar width. See the module documentation for full details.
Parameters
settings: SettingsSettings instance for adding panels
close_settings(*largs)
Close the previously opened settings panel.
ReturnsTrue if the settings has been closed.
config = None
Returns an instance of the ConfigParser for the application configuration. You can use
this to query some config tokens in the build() method.
create_settings()
Create the settings panel. This method will normally be called only one time per application
life-time and the result is cached internally, but it may be called again if the cached panel is
removed by destroy_settings().
By default, it will build a settings panel according to settings_cls, call
build_settings(), add a Kivy panel if use_kivy_settings is True, and bind to
on_close/on_config_change.
If you want to plug your own way of doing settings, without the Kivy panel or close/config
change events, this is the method you want to overload.
destroy_settings()
Dereferences the current settings panel if one exists.
This means that when
_
App.open settings() is next run, a new panel will be created and displayed. It doesnt
affect any of the contents of the panel, but lets you (for instance) refresh the settings panel
layout if you have changed the settings widget in response to a screen size change.
If you have modified open_settings() or display_settings(), you should be careful
to correctly detect if the previous settings widget has been destroyed.
directory
Return the directory where the application lives.
display_settings(settings)
Display the settings panel. By default, the panel is drawn directly on top of the window. You
can define other behaviour by overriding this method, such as adding it to a ScreenManager
or Popup.
You should return True if the display is successful, otherwise False.
Parameters
settings: SettingsYou can modify this object in order to modify the settings
display.
get_application_config(defaultpath=%(appdir)s/%(appname)s.ini)
Changed in version 1.4.0: Customized the default path for iOS and Android platforms.
Added a defaultpath parameter for desktop OSs (not applicable to iOS and Android.)
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Return the filename of your application configuration. Depending on the platform, the application file will be stored in different locations:
on iOS: <appdir>/Documents/.<appname>.ini
on Android: /sdcard/.<appname>.ini
otherwise: <appdir>/<appname>.ini
When you are distributing your application on Desktops, please note that if the application
is meant to be installed system-wide, the user might not have write-access to the application
directory. If you want to store user settings, you should overload this method and change
the default behavior to save the configuration file in the user directory.:
class TestApp(App):
def get_application_config(self):
return super(TestApp, self).get_application_config(
'~/.%(appname)s.ini')
Some notes:
The tilda ~ will be expanded to the user directory.
%(appdir)s will be replaced with the application directory
%(appname)s will be replaced with the application name
get_application_icon()
Return the icon of the application.
get_application_name()
Return the name of the application.
static get_running_app()
Return the currently running application instance.
icon
Icon of your application. The icon can be located in the same directory as your main file. You
can set this as follows:
class MyApp(App):
def build(self):
self.icon = 'myicon.png'

Changed in version 1.8.0: icon is now a StringProperty. Dont set the icon in the class as
previously stated in the documentation.
Note: For Kivy prior to 1.8.0, you need to set this as follows:
class MyApp(App):
icon = 'customicon.png'
Recommended 256x256 or 1024x1024? for GNU/Linux and Mac OSX
32x32 for Windows7 or less. <= 256x256 for windows 8
256x256 does work (on Windows 8 at least), but is scaled
down and doesn't look as good as a 32x32 icon.
kv_directory
Path of the directory where application kv is stored, defaults to None
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If a kv_directory is set, it will be used to get the initial kv file. By default, the file is assumed
to be in the same directory as the current App definition file.
kv_file
Filename of the Kv file to load, defaults to None.
If a kv_file is set, it will be loaded when the application starts. The loading of the default
kv file will be prevented.
load_config()
(internal) This function is used for returning a ConfigParser with the application configuration. Its doing 3 things:
1.Creating an instance of a ConfigParser
2.Loading the default configuration by calling build_config(), then
3.If it exists, it loads the application configuration file, otherwise it creates one.
ReturnsConfigParser instance
load_kv(filename=None)
This method is invoked the first time the app is being run if no widget tree has been constructed before for this app. This method then looks for a matching kv file in the same
directory as the file that contains the application class.
For example, say you have a file named main.py that contains:
class ShowcaseApp(App):
pass
This method will search for a file named showcase.kv in the directory that contains main.py.
The name of the kv file has to be the lowercase name of the class, without the App postfix
at the end if it exists.
You can define rules and a root widget in your kv file:
<ClassName>: # this is a rule
...
ClassName: # this is a root widget
...
There must be only one root widget. See the Kivy Language documentation for more information on how to create kv files. If your kv file contains a root widget, it will be used as
self.root, the root widget for the application.
Note: This function is called from run(), therefore, any widget whose styling is defined
in this kv file and is created before run() is called (e.g. in __init__), wont have its styling
applied. Note that build() is called after load_kv has been called.
name
Return the name of the application based on the class name.
on_config_change(config, section, key, value)
Event handler fired when a configuration token has been changed by the settings page.
on_pause()
Event handler called when Pause mode is requested. You should return True if your app
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can go into Pause mode, otherwise return False and your application will be stopped (the
default).
You cannot control when the application is going to go into this mode. Its determined by
the Operating System and mostly used for mobile devices (android/ios) and for resizing.
The default return value is False.
on_resume()
Event handler called when your application is resuming from the Pause mode.
Warning: When resuming, the OpenGL Context might have been damaged / freed. This
is where you can reconstruct some of your OpenGL state e.g. FBO content.
on_start()
Event handler for the on_start event which is fired after initialization (after build() has been
called) but before the application has started running.
on_stop()
Event handler for the on_stop event which is fired when the application has finished running
(i.e. the window is about to be closed).
open_settings(*largs)
Open the application settings panel. It will be created the very first time, or recreated if
the previously cached panel has been removed by destroy_settings(). The settings
panel will be displayed with the display_settings() method, which by default adds
the settings panel to the Window attached to your application. You should override that
method if you want to display the settings panel differently.
ReturnsTrue if the settings has been opened.
options = None
Options passed to the __init__ of the App
root = None
The root widget returned by the build() method or by the load_kv() method if the kv
file contains a root widget.
root_window
Returns the root window instance used by run().
run()
Launches the app in standalone mode.
settings_cls
The class used to construct the settings panel and the instance passed to build_config().
You should use either Settings or one of the provided subclasses with different layouts (SettingsWithSidebar, SettingsWithSpinner, SettingsWithTabbedPanel,
SettingsWithNoMenu). You can also create your own Settings subclass. See the documentation of Settings for more information.
settings_cls is an ObjectProperty and defaults to SettingsWithSpinner which
displays settings panels with a spinner to switch between them. If you set a string, the
Factory will be used to resolve the class.
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stop(*largs)
Stop the application.
If you use this method, the whole application will stop by issuing a call to stopTouchApp().
title
Title of your application. You can set this as follows:
class MyApp(App):
def build(self):
self.title = 'Hello world'

Changed in version 1.8.0: title is now a StringProperty. Dont set the title in the class as
previously stated in the documentation.
Note: For Kivy < 1.8.0, you can set this as follows:
class MyApp(App):
title = 'Custom title'
If you want to dynamically change the title, you can do:

from kivy.base import EventLoop
EventLoop.window.title = 'New title'
use_kivy_settings = True
If True, the application settings will also include the Kivy settings. If you dont want the user
to change any kivy settings from your settings UI, change this to False.
user_data_dir
Returns the path to the directory in the users file system which the application can use to
store additional data.
Different platforms have different conventions with regards to where the user can store data
such as preferences, saved games and settings. This function implements these conventions.
The <app_name> directory is created when the property is called, unless it already exists.
On iOS, ~/Documents<app_name> is returned (which is inside the apps sandbox).
On Android, /sdcard/<app_name> is returned.
On Windows, %APPDATA%/<app_name> is returned.
On Mac OSX, ~/Library/Application Support/<app_name> is returned.
On Linux, $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/<app_name> is returned.
21.5 Asynchronous data loader

This is the Asynchronous Loader. You can use it to load an image and use it, even if data are not yet
available. You must specify a default loading image when using the loader:
from kivy.loader import Loader
image = Loader.image('mysprite.png')
You can also load an image from a url:
183
image = Loader.image('http://mysite.com/test.png')
If you want to change the default loading image, you can do:
Loader.loading_image = Image('another_loading.png')
21.5.1 Tweaking the asynchronous loader

You can tweak the loader to provide a better user experience or more performance, depending of the
images you are going to load. Take a look at the parameters:
Loader.num_workers - define the number of threads to start for loading images.
Loader.max_upload_per_frame - define the maximum image uploads in GPU to do per
frame.
class kivy.loader.LoaderBase
Common base for the Loader and specific implementations. By default, the Loader will be the
best available loader implementation.
The _update() function is called every 1 / 25.s or each frame if we have less than 25 FPS.
error_image
Image used for error. You can change it by doing:
Loader.error_image = 'error.png'
Changed in version 1.6.0: Not readonly anymore.

image(filename, load_callback=None, post_callback=None, **kwargs)
Load a image using the Loader. A ProxyImage is returned with a loading image. You can
use it as follows:
from kivy.uix.image import Image
class TestApp(App):
def _image_loaded(self, proxyImage):
if proxyImage.image.texture:
self.image.texture = proxyImage.image.texture
def build(self):
proxyImage = Loader.image("myPic.jpg")
proxyImage.bind(on_load=self._image_loaded)
self.image = Image()
return self.image
TestApp().run()
In order to cancel all background loading, call Loader.stop().

loading_image
Image used for loading. You can change it by doing:
Loader.loading_image = 'loading.png'
Changed in version 1.6.0: Not readonly anymore.

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max_upload_per_frame
The number of images to upload per frame. By default, well upload only 2 images to the
GPU per frame. If you are uploading many small images, you can easily increase this parameter to 10 or more. If you are loading multiple full HD images, the upload time may have
consequences and block the application. If you want a smooth experience, use the default.
As a matter of fact, a Full-HD RGB image will take ~6MB in memory, so it may take time. If
you have activated mipmap=True too, then the GPU must calculate the mipmap of these big
images too, in real time. Then it may be best to reduce the max_upload_per_frame to 1 or
2. If you want to get rid of that (or reduce it a lot), take a look at the DDS format.
num_workers
Number of workers to use while loading (used only if the loader implementation supports
it). This setting impacts the loader only on initialization. Once the loader is started, the
setting has no impact:
Loader.num_workers = 4
The default value is 2 for giving a smooth user experience. You could increase the number
of workers, then all the images will be loaded faster, but the user will not been able to use
the application while loading. Prior to 1.6.0, the default number was 20, and loading many
full-hd images was completly blocking the application.
pause()
Pause the loader, can be useful during interactions.
resume()
Resume the loader, after a pause().
run(*largs)
Main loop for the loader.
start()
Start the loader thread/process.
stop()
Stop the loader thread/process.
class kivy.loader.ProxyImage(arg, **kwargs)
Bases: kivy.core.image.Image
Image returned by the Loader.image() function.
Properties
loaded: bool, defaults to FalseThis value may be True if the image is already
cached.
Events
on_loadFired when the image is loaded or changed.
21.6 Atlas
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Atlas manages texture atlases: packing multiple textures into one. With it, you reduce the number of
images loaded and speedup the application loading. This module contains both the Atlas class and
command line processing for creating an atlas from a set of individual PNG files. The command line
section requires the Pillow library, or the defunct Python Imaging Library (PIL), to be installed.
An Atlas is composed of files:
a json file (.atlas) that contains the image file names and texture locations of the atlas.
one or multiple image files containing textures referenced by the .atlas file.
21.6.1 Definition of .atlas files

A file with <basename>.atlas is a json file formatted like this:
{
"<basename>-<index>.png": {
"id1": [ <x>, <y>, <width>, <height> ],
"id2": [ <x>, <y>, <width>, <height> ],
# ...
},
# ...
}
Example from the Kivy data/images/defaulttheme.atlas:

{
"defaulttheme-0.png": {
"progressbar_background": [431, 224, 59, 24],
"image-missing": [253, 344, 48, 48],
"filechooser_selected": [1, 207, 118, 118],
"bubble_btn": [83, 174, 32, 32],
# ... and more ...
}
}
In
this
example,
defaulttheme-0.png
is
a
large
image,
with
the
pixels in the rectangle from (431,
224) to (431 + 59,
224 + 24) usable as
atlas://data/images/defaulttheme/progressbar_background in any image parameter.
21.6.2 How to create an Atlas

Warning: The atlas creation requires the Pillow library (or the defunct Imaging/PIL library). This
requirement will be removed in the future when the Kivy core Image is able to support loading,
blitting, and saving operations.
You can directly use this module to create atlas files with this command:
$ python -m kivy.atlas <basename> <size> <list of images...>
Lets say you have a list of images that you want to put into an Atlas. The directory is named images
with lots of 64x64 png files inside:
$ ls
images
$ cd images
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$ ls
bubble.png bubble-red.png button.png button-down.png
You can combine all the pngs into one and generate the atlas file with:
$ python -m kivy.atlas myatlas 256x256 *.png
Atlas created at myatlas.atlas
1 image has been created
$ ls
bubble.png bubble-red.png button.png button-down.png myatlas.atlas
myatlas-0.png
As you can see, we get 2 new files: myatlas.atlas and myatlas-0.png. myatlas-0.png is a new
256x256 .png composed of all your images.
Note: When using this script, the ids referenced in the atlas are the base names of the images without
the extension. So, if you are going to name a file ../images/button.png, the id for this image will
be button.
If you need path information included, you should include use_path as follows:
$ python -m kivy.atlas use_path myatlas 256 *.png
In which case the id for ../images/button.png will be images_button
21.6.3 How to use an Atlas

Usually, you would use the atlas as follows:
a = Button(background_normal='images/button.png',
background_down='images/button_down.png')
In our previous example, we have created the atlas containing both images and put them in
images/myatlas.atlas. You can use url notation to reference them:
atlas://path/to/myatlas/id
# will search for the ``path/to/myatlas.atlas`` and get the image `ìd``
In our case, it would be:

atlas://images/myatlas/button
Note: In the atlas url, there is no need to add the .atlas extension. It will be automatically append to
the filename.
21.6.4 Manual usage of the Atlas

>>> from kivy.atlas import Atlas
>>> atlas = Atlas('path/to/myatlas.atlas')
>>> print(atlas.textures.keys())
['bubble', 'bubble-red', 'button', 'button-down']
>>> print(atlas['button'])
<kivy.graphics.texture.TextureRegion object at 0x2404d10>
class kivy.atlas.Atlas(filename)
187
Manage texture atlas. See module documentation for more information.

static create(outname, filenames, size, padding=2, use_path=False)
This method can be used to create an atlas manually from a set of images.
Parameters
outname: strBasename to use for .atlas creation and -<idx>.png associated
images.
filenames: listList of filenames to put in the atlas.
size: int or list (width, height)Size of the atlas image.
padding: int, defaults to 2Padding to put around each image.
Be careful. If youre using a padding < 2, you might have issues with the
borders of the images. Because of the OpenGL linearization, it might use the
pixels of the adjacent image.
If youre using a padding >= 2, well automatically generate a border of
1px around your image. If you look at the result, dont be scared if the image
inside is not exactly the same as yours :).
use_path: bool, defaults to FalseIf True, the relative path of the source png file
names will be included in the atlas ids rather that just in the file names. Leading dots and slashes will be excluded and all other slashes in the path will
be replaced with underscores. For example, if use_path is False (the default)
and the file name is ../data/tiles/green_grass.png, the id will be
green_grass. If use_path is True, it will be data_tiles_green_grass.
Changed in version 1.8.0: Parameter use_path added
filename
Filename of the current Atlas.
filename is an AliasProperty and defaults to None.
original_textures
List of original atlas textures (which contain the textures).
original_textures is a ListProperty and defaults to [].
textures
List of available textures within the atlas.
textures is a DictProperty and defaults to {}.
21.7 Cache manager

The cache manager can be used to store python objects attached to a unique key. The cache can be
controlled in two ways: with a object limit or a timeout.
For example, we can create a new cache with a limit of 10 objects and a timeout of 5 seconds:
# register a new Cache
Cache.register('mycache', limit=10, timeout=5)
# create an object + id
key = 'objectid'
instance = Label(text=text)
Cache.append('mycache', key, instance)
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# retrieve the cached object

instance = Cache.get('mycache', key)
If the instance is NULL, the cache may have trashed it because youve not used the label for 5 seconds
and youve reach the limit.
class kivy.cache.Cache
See module documentation for more information.
static append(category, key, obj, timeout=None)
Add a new object to the cache.
Parameters
category[str] Identifier of the category.
key[str] Unique identifier of the object to store.
obj[object] Object to store in cache.
timeout[double (optional)] Time after which to delete the object if it has not been
used. If None, no timeout is applied.
static get(category, key, default=None)
Get a object from the cache.
Parameters
key[str] Unique identifier of the object in the store.
default[anything, defaults to None] Default value to be returned if the key is not
found.
static get_lastaccess(category, key, default=None)
Get the objects last access time in the cache.
Parameters
found.
static get_timestamp(category, key, default=None)
Get the object timestamp in the cache.
Parameters
found.
static print_usage()
Print the cache usage to the console.
static register(category, limit=None, timeout=None)
Register a new category in the cache with the specified limit.
Parameters
189

limit[int (optional)] Maximum number of objects allowed in the cache. If None,
no limit is applied.
timeout[double (optional)] Time after which to delete the object if it has not been
used. If None, no timeout is applied.
static remove(category, key=None)
Purge the cache.
Parameters
key[str (optional)] Unique identifier of the object in the store. If this arguement
is not supplied, the entire category will be purged.
21.8 Clock object

The Clock object allows you to schedule a function call in the future; once or repeatedly at specified
intervals. You can get the time elapsed between the scheduling and the calling of the callback via the dt
argument:
# dt means delta-time
pass
# call my_callback every 0.5 seconds
Clock.schedule_interval(my_callback, 0.5)
# call my_callback in 5 seconds
# call my_callback as soon as possible (usually next frame.)
Clock.schedule_once(my_callback)
Note: If the callback returns False, the schedule will be removed.

If you want to schedule a function to call with default arguments, you can use the functools.partial
python module:
from functools import partial
def my_callback(value, key, *largs):
pass
Clock.schedule_interval(partial(my_callback, 'my value', 'my key'), 0.5)
Conversely, if you want to schedule a function that doesnt accept the dt argument, you can use a
lambda expression to write a short function that does accept dt. For Example:
def no_args_func():
print("I accept no arguments, so don't schedule me in the clock")
Clock.schedule_once(lambda dt: no_args_func(), 0.5)
Note: You cannot unschedule an anonymous function unless you keep a reference to it. Its better to
add *args to your function definition so that it can be called with an arbitrary number of parameters.
190
Important: The callback is weak-referenced: you are responsible for keeping a reference to your original object/callback. If you dont keep a reference, the ClockBase will never execute your callback. For
example:
class Foo(object):
def start(self):
Clock.schedule_interval(self.callback, 0.5)
def callback(self, dt):
print('In callback')
# A Foo object is created and the method start is called.
# Because no reference is kept to the instance returned from Foo(),
# the object will be collected by the Python Garbage Collector and
# your callback will be never called.
Foo().start()
# So you should do the following and keep a reference to the instance
# of foo until you don't need it anymore!
foo = Foo()
foo.start()
21.8.1 Schedule before frame

Sometimes you need to schedule a callback BEFORE the next frame. Starting from 1.0.5, you can use a
timeout of -1:
Clock.schedule_once(my_callback, 0) # call after the next frame
Clock.schedule_once(my_callback, -1) # call before the next frame
The Clock will execute all the callbacks with a timeout of -1 before the next frame even if you add a new
callback with -1 from a running callback. However, Clock has an iteration limit for these callbacks: it
defaults to 10.
If you schedule a callback that schedules a callback that schedules a .. etc more than 10 times, it will
leave the loop and send a warning to the console, then continue after the next frame. This is implemented to prevent bugs from hanging or crashing the application.
If you need to increase the limit, set the max_iteration property:
Clock.max_iteration = 20
21.8.2 Triggered Events

A triggered event is a way to defer a callback exactly like schedule_once(), but with some added convenience. The callback will only be scheduled once per frame even if you call the trigger twice (or more).
This is not the case with Clock.schedule_once():
# will run the callback twice before the next frame
191
# will run the callback once before the next frame

t = Clock.create_trigger(my_callback)
t()
t()
Before triggered events, you may have used this approach in a widget:
def trigger_callback(self, *largs):
Clock.unschedule(self.callback)
Clock.schedule_once(self.callback)
As soon as you call trigger_callback(), it will correctly schedule the callback once in the next frame. It is
more convenient to create and bind to the triggered event than using Clock.schedule_once() in a
function:
class Sample(Widget):
self._trigger = Clock.create_trigger(self.cb)
super(Sample, self).__init__(**kwargs)
self.bind(x=self._trigger, y=self._trigger)
def cb(self, *largs):
pass
Even if x and y changes within one frame, the callback is only run once.
Note: ClockBase.create_trigger() also has a timeout parameter that behaves exactly like
ClockBase.schedule_once().
21.8.3 Threading
Often, other threads are used to schedule callbacks with kivys main thread using ClockBase. Therefore, its important to know what is thread safe and what isnt.
All the ClockBase and ClockEvent methods are safe with respect to kivys thread. That is, its
always safe to call these methods from a single thread that is not the kivy thread. However, there are
no guarantees as to the order in which these callbacks will be executed.
Calling a previously created trigger from two different threads (even if one of them is the kivy
thread), or calling the trigger and its ClockEvent.cancel() method from two different threads
at the same time is not safe. That is, although no exception will be raised, there no guarantees that
calling the trigger from two different threads will not result in the callback being executed twice, or
not executed at all. Similarly, such issues might arise when calling the trigger and canceling it with
ClockBase.unschedule() or ClockEvent.cancel() from two threads simultaneously.
Therefore, it is safe to call ClockBase.create_trigger(), ClockBase.schedule_once(),
ClockBase.schedule_interval(), or call or cancel a previously created trigger from an external
thread. The following code, though, is not safe because it calls or cancels from two threads simultaneously without any locking mechanism:
event = Clock.create_trigger(func)
# in thread 1
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event()
# in thread 2
event()
# now, the event may be scheduled twice or once
# the following is also unsafe
# in thread 1
event()
# in thread 2
event.cancel()
# now, the event may or may not be scheduled and a subsequent call
# may schedule it twice
Note, in the code above, thread 1 or thread 2 could be the kivy thread, not just an external thread.
kivy.clock.Clock = None
Instance of ClockBase.
class kivy.clock.ClockBase
Bases: kivy.clock._ClockBase
A clock object with event support.
create_trigger(callback, timeout=0)
Create a Trigger event. Check module documentation for more information.
ReturnsA ClockEvent instance. To schedule the callback of this instance, you can
call it.
frames
Number of internal frames (not necesseraly drawed) from the start of the clock.
frames_displayed
Number of displayed frames from the start of the clock.
frametime
Time spent between the last frame and the current frame (in seconds).
get_boottime()
Get the time in seconds from the application start.
get_fps()
Get the current average FPS calculated by the clock.
get_rfps()
Get the current real FPS calculated by the clock. This counter reflects the real framerate
displayed on the screen.
In contrast to get_fps(), this function returns a counter of the number of frames, not the
average of frames per second.
get_time()
Get the last tick made by the clock.
max_iteration
New in version 1.0.5: When a schedule_once is used with -1, you can add a limit on how
iteration will be allowed. That is here to prevent too much relayout.
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schedule_interval(callback, timeout)
Schedule an event to be called every <timeout> seconds.
ReturnsA ClockEvent instance. As opposed to create_trigger() which only
creates the trigger event, this method also schedules it.
schedule_once(callback, timeout=0)
Schedule an event in <timeout> seconds. If <timeout> is unspecified or 0, the callback will
be called after the next frame is rendered.
ReturnsA ClockEvent instance. As opposed to create_trigger() which only
creates the trigger event, this method also schedules it.
Changed in version 1.0.5: If the timeout is -1, the callback will be called before the next frame
(at tick_draw()).
tick()
Advance the clock to the next step. Must be called every frame. The default clock has a tick()
function called by the core Kivy framework.
tick_draw()
Tick the drawing counter.
time = functools.partial(<function _libc_clock_gettime_wrapper.<locals>._time at 0x2ba468646378>)
unschedule(callback, all=True)
Remove a previously scheduled event.
Parameters
callback: ClockEvent or a callable.If its a ClockEvent instance, then the
callback associated with this event will be canceled if it is scheduled. If its
a callable, then the callable will be unscheduled if it is scheduled.
all: boolIf True and if callback is a callable, all instances of this callable will be
unscheduled (i.e. if this callable was scheduled multiple times). Defaults to
True.
Changed in version 1.9.0: The all parameter was added. Before, it behaved as if all was True.
class kivy.clock.ClockEvent(clock, loop, callback, timeout, starttime, cid, trigger=False)
A class that describes a callback scheduled with kivys Clock. This class is never created by the
user; instead, kivy creates and returns an instance of this class when scheduling a callback.
Warning: Most of the methods of this class are internal and can change without notice. The
only exception are the cancel() and __call__() methods.
cancel()
Cancels the callback if it was scheduled to be called.
kivy.clock.mainthread(func)
Decorator that will schedule the call of the function for the next available frame in the mainthread.
It can be useful when you use UrlRequest or when you do Thread programming: you cannot
do any OpenGL-related work in a thread.
Please note that this method will return directly and no result can be returned:
@mainthread
def callback(self, *args):
print('The request succedded!',
'This callback is called in the main thread.')
194
self.req = UrlRequest(url='http://...', on_success=callback)
21.9 Compatibility module for Python 2.7 and > 3.3

kivy.compat.PY2 = False
True if Python 2 intepreter is used
kivy.compat.string_types
String types that can be used for checking if a object is a string
alias of str
21.10 Configuration object

The Config object is an instance of a modified Python ConfigParser. See the ConfigParser documentation for more information.
Kivy has a configuration file which determines the default settings. In order to change these settings,
you can alter this file manually or use the Config object. Please see the Configure Kivy section for more
information.
21.10.1 Applying configurations

Configuration options control the initialization of the App. In order to avoid situations where the config
settings do not work or are not applied before window creation (like setting an initial window size),
Config.set should be used before importing any other Kivy modules. Ideally, this means setting
them right at the start of your main.py script.
Alternatively, you can save these settings permanently using Config.set then Config.write. In
this case, you will need to restart the app for the changes to take effect. Note that this approach will
effect all Kivy apps system wide.
21.10.2 Usage of the Config object

To read a configuration token from a particular section:
>>> from kivy.config import Config
>>> Config.getint('kivy', 'show_fps')
0
Change the configuration and save it:

>>> Config.set('postproc', 'retain_time', '50')
>>> Config.write()
For information on configuring your App, please see the Application configuration section.
Changed in version 1.7.1: The ConfigParser should work correctly with utf-8 now. The values are
converted from ascii to unicode only when needed. The method get() returns utf-8 strings.
195
21.10.3 Available configuration tokens

kivy
desktop: int, 0 or 1 This option controls desktop OS specific features, such as enabling
drag-able scroll-bar in scroll views, disabling of bubbles in TextInput etc. 0 is disabled, 1 is enabled.
exit_on_escape: int, 0 or 1 Enables exiting kivy when escape is pressed. 0 is disabled,
1 is enabled.
pause_on_minimize: int, 0 or 1 If set to 1, the main loop is paused and the on_pause
event is dispatched when the window is minimized. This option is intended for
desktop use only. Defaults to 0.
keyboard_layout: string Identifier of the layout to use.
keyboard_mode: string Specifies the keyboard mode to use. If can be one of the following:
- Let Kivy choose the best option for your current platform.
system - real keyboard.
dock - one virtual keyboard docked to a screen side.
multi - one virtual keyboard for every widget request.
systemanddock - virtual docked keyboard plus input from real keyboard.
systemandmulti - analogous.
log_dir: string Path of log directory.
log_enable: int, 0 or 1 Activate file logging. 0 is disabled, 1 is enabled.
log_level: string, one of debug, info, warning, error or critical Set the minimum log level to use.
log_name: string Format string to use for the filename of log file.
window_icon: string Path of the window icon. Use this if you want to replace the
default pygame icon.
postproc
double_tap_distance: float Maximum distance allowed for a double tap, normalized
inside the range 0 - 1000.
double_tap_time: int Time allowed for the detection of double tap, in milliseconds.
ignore: list of tuples List of regions where new touches are ignored. This configuration token can be used to resolve hotspot problems with DIY hardware. The format
of the list must be:
ignore = [(xmin, ymin, xmax, ymax), ...]
All the values must be inside the range 0 - 1.

jitter_distance: int Maximum distance for jitter detection, normalized inside the range
0 - 1000.
jitter_ignore_devices: string, separated with commas List of devices to ignore from
jitter detection.
retain_distance: int If the touch moves more than is indicated by retain_distance, it
will not be retained. Argument should be an int between 0 and 1000.
196
retain_time: int Time allowed for a retain touch, in milliseconds.

triple_tap_distance: float Maximum distance allowed for a triple tap, normalized inside the range 0 - 1000.
triple_tap_time: int Time allowed for the detection of triple tap, in milliseconds.
graphics
borderless: int , one of 0 or 1 If set to 1, removes the window border/decoration.
window_state: string , one of visible, hidden, maximized or minimized Sets
the window state, defaults to visible. This option is available only for the SDL2
window provider and it should be used on desktop OSes.
fbo: string, one of hardware, software or force-hardware Selects the FBO backend to use.
fullscreen: int or string, one of 0, 1, fake or auto Activate fullscreen. If set to 1, a
resolution of width times height pixels will be used. If set to auto, your current
displays resolution will be used instead. This is most likely what you want. If you
want to place the window in another display, use fake, or set the borderless option
from the graphics section, then adjust width, height, top and left.
height: int Height of the Window, not used if fullscreen is set to auto.
left: int Left position of the Window.
maxfps: int, defaults to 60 Maximum FPS allowed. ..warning:
Setting maxfps to 0 will lead to max CPU usage.
multisamples: int, defaults to 2 Sets the MultiSample Anti-Aliasing (MSAA) level.

Increasing this value results in smoother graphics but at the cost of processing
time.
Note: This feature is limited by device hardware support and will have no effect
on devices which do not support the level of MSAA requested.
position: string, one of auto or custom Position of the window on your display. If
auto is used, you have no control of the initial position: top and left are ignored.
show_cursor: int, one of 0 or 1 Show the cursor on the screen.
top: int Top position of the Window.
resizable: int, one of 0 or 1 If 0, the window will have a fixed size. If 1, the window
will be resizable.
rotation: int, one of 0, 90, 180 or 270 Rotation of the Window.
width: int Width of the Window, not used if fullscreen is set to auto.
minimum_width: int Minimum width to restrict the window to. (sdl2 only)
minimun_height: int Minimum height to restrict the window to. (sdl2 only)
input You can create new input devices using this syntax:
# example of input provider instance
yourid = providerid,parameters
# example for tuio provider
default = tuio,127.0.0.1:3333
mytable = tuio,192.168.0.1:3334
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See also:
Check the providers in kivy.input.providers for the syntax to use inside the configuration file.
widgets
scroll_distance: int Default value of the scroll_distance property used by the
ScrollView widget. Check the widget documentation for more information.
scroll_friction: float Default value of the scroll_friction property used by the
scroll_timeout: int Default value of the scroll_timeout property used by the
scroll_stoptime: int Default value of the scroll_stoptime property used by the
Deprecated since version 1.7.0: Please use effect_cls instead.
scroll_moves: int Default value of the scroll_moves property used by the
Deprecated since version 1.7.0: Please use effect_cls instead.
modules You can activate modules with this syntax:
modulename =
Anything after the = will be passed to the module as arguments. Check the specific
modules documentation for a list of accepted arguments.
Changed in version 1.9.0: borderless and window_state have been added to the graphics section. The fake
setting of the fullscreen option has been deprecated, use the borderless option instead. pause_on_minimize
has been added to the kivy section.
Changed in version 1.8.0: systemanddock and systemandmulti has been added as possible values for keyboard_mode in the kivy section. exit_on_escape has been added to the kivy section.
Changed in version 1.2.0: resizable has been added to graphics section.
Changed in version 1.1.0: tuio no longer listens by default. Window icons are not copied to user directory anymore. You can still set a new window icon by using the window_icon config setting.
Changed in version 1.0.8: scroll_timeout, scroll_distance and scroll_friction have been added. list_friction,
list_trigger_distance and list_friction_bound have been removed. keyboard_type and keyboard_layout have
been removed from the widget. keyboard_mode and keyboard_layout have been added to the kivy section.
kivy.config.Config = None
The default Kivy configuration object. This is a ConfigParser instance with the name set to
kivy.
Config = ConfigParser(name='kivy')
class kivy.config.ConfigParser(name=)
Bases: configparser.RawConfigParser, builtins.object
Enhanced ConfigParser class that supports the addition of default sections and default values.
By default, the kivy ConfigParser instance, Config, is named kivy and the ConfigParser instance
used by the App.build_settings method is named app.
Parameters
name: stringThe name of the instance. See name. Defaults to .
198
Changed in version 1.9.0: Each ConfigParser can now be named. You can get the ConfigParser
associated with a name using get_configparser(). In addition, you can now control the
config values with ConfigParserProperty.
add_callback(callback, section=None, key=None)
Add a callback to be called when a specific section or key has changed. If you dont specify
a section or key, it will call the callback for all section/key changes.
Callbacks will receive 3 arguments: the section, key and value.
adddefaultsection(section)
Add a section if the section is missing.
static get_configparser(name)
Returns the ConfigParser instance whose name is name, or None if not found.
Parameters
name: stringThe name of the ConfigParser instance to return.
getdefault(section, option, defaultvalue)
Get the value of an option in the specified section. If not found, it will return the default
value.
getdefaultint(section, option, defaultvalue)
Get the value of an option in the specified section. If not found, it will return the default
value. The value will always be returned as an integer.
name
The name associated with this ConfigParser instance, if not . Defaults to . It can be safely
changed dynamically or set to .
When a ConfigParser is given a name, that config object can be retrieved using
get_configparser(). In addition, that config instance can also be used with a
ConfigParserProperty instance that set its config value to this name.
Setting more than one ConfigParser with the same name will raise a ValueError.
read(filename)
Read only one filename. In contrast to the original ConfigParser of Python, this one is able
to read only one file at a time. The last read file will be used for the write() method.
Changed in version 1.9.0: read() now calls the callbacks if read changed any values.
remove_callback(callback, section=None, key=None)
Removes a callback added with add_callback(). remove_callback() must be called
with the same parameters as add_callback().
Raises a ValueError if not found.
set(section, option, value)
Functions similarly to PythonConfigParsers set method, except that the value is implicitly
converted to a string.
setall(section, keyvalues)
Sets multiple key-value pairs in a section. keyvalues should be a dictionary containing the
key-value pairs to be set.
199
setdefault(section, option, value)

Set the default value for an option in the specified section.
setdefaults(section, keyvalues)
Set multiple key-value defaults in a section. keyvalues should be a dictionary containing the
new key-value defaults.
update_config(filename, overwrite=False)
Upgrade the configuration based on a new default config file. Overwrite any existing values
if overwrite is True.
write()
Write the configuration to the last file opened using the read() method.
Return True if the write finished successfully, False otherwise.
21.11 Context
Warning: This is experimental and subject to change as long as this warning notice is present.
Kivy has a few global instances that are used directly by many pieces of the framework: Cache, Builder,
Clock.
TODO: document this module.
kivy.context.register_context(name, cls, *args, **kwargs)
Register a new context.
kivy.context.get_current_context()
Return the current context.
21.12 Event dispatcher

All objects that produce events in Kivy implement the EventDispatcher which provides a consistent
interface for registering and manipulating event handlers.
Changed in version 1.0.9: Property discovery and methods have been moved from the Widget to the
EventDispatcher.
class kivy.event.EventDispatcher
Bases: kivy.event.ObjectWithUid
Generic event dispatcher interface.
See the module docstring for usage.
apply_property()
Adds properties at runtime to the class. The function accepts keyword arguments of the
form prop_name=prop, where prop is a Property instance and prop_name is the name of the
attribute of the property.
Warning: This method is not reccomended for common usage because you should declare the properties in your class instead of using this method.
For example:
200
>>> print(wid.property('sticks', quiet=True))

None
>>> wid.apply_property(sticks=ObjectProperty(55, max=10))
>>> print(wid.property('sticks', quiet=True))
<kivy.properties.ObjectProperty object at 0x04303130>
bind()
Bind an event type or a property to a callback.
Usage:
# With properties
def my_x_callback(obj, value):
print('on object', obj, 'x changed to', value)
def my_width_callback(obj, value):
print('on object', obj, 'width changed to', value)
self.bind(x=my_x_callback, width=my_width_callback)
# With event
def my_press_callback(obj):
print('event on object', obj)
self.bind(on_press=my_press_callback)
In general, property callbacks are called with 2 arguments (the object and the propertys new
value) and event callbacks with one argument (the object). The example above illustrates
this.
The following example demonstrates various ways of using the bind function in a complete
application:
from
from
from
from

kivy.app import App
functools import partial
class DemoBox(BoxLayout):
"""
This class demonstrates various techniques that can be used for binding to
events. Although parts could me made more optimal, advanced Python concepts
are avoided for the sake of readability and clarity.
"""
super(DemoBox, self).__init__(**kwargs)
self.orientation = "vertical"
# We start with binding to a normal event. The only argument
# passed to the callback is the object which we have bound to.
btn = Button(text="Normal binding to event")
btn.bind(on_press=self.on_event)
# Next, we bind to a standard property change event. This typically
# passes 2 arguments: the object and the value
btn2 = Button(text="Normal binding to a property change")
btn2.bind(state=self.on_property)
# Here we use anonymous functions (a.k.a lambdas) to perform binding.
# Their advantage is that you can avoid declaring new functions i.e.
# they offer a concise way to "redirect" callbacks.
btn3 = Button(text="Using anonymous functions.")
btn3.bind(on_press=lambda x: self.on_event(None))
201
# You can also declare a function that accepts a variable number of

# positional and keyword arguments and use introspection to determine
# what is being passed in. This is very handy for debugging as well
# as function re-use. Here, we use standard event binding to a function
# that accepts optional positional and keyword arguments.
btn4 = Button(text="Use a flexible function")
btn4.bind(on_press=self.on_anything)
# Lastly, we show how to use partial functions. They are sometimes
# difficult to grasp, but provide a very flexible and powerful way to
# reuse functions.
btn5 = Button(text="Using partial functions. For hardcores.")
btn5.bind(on_press=partial(self.on_anything, "1", "2", monthy="python"))
for but in [btn, btn2, btn3, btn4, btn5]:
self.add_widget(but)
def on_event(self, obj):
print("Typical event from", obj)
def on_property(self, obj, value):
print("Typical property change from", obj, "to", value)
def on_anything(self, *args, **kwargs):
print('The flexible function has *args of', str(args),
"and **kwargs of", str(kwargs))
class DemoApp(App):
def build(self):
return DemoBox()
if __name__ == "__main__":
DemoApp().run()
When binding a function to an event or property, a kivy.weakmethod.WeakMethod of

the callback is saved, and when dispatching the callback is removed if the callback reference
becomes invalid.
If a callback has already been bound to a given event or property, it wont be added again.
create_property()
Create a new property at runtime.
Changed in version 1.8.0: value parameter added, can be used to set the default value of the
property. Also, the type of the value is used to specialize the created property.
Changed in version 1.9.0: In the past, if value was of type bool, a NumericProperty would be
created, now a BooleanProperty is created.
Also, now and positional and keyword arguments are passed to the property when created.
Warning: This function is designed for the Kivy language, dont use it in your code. You
should declare the property in your class instead of using this method.
Parameters
name: stringName of the property
202
value: object, optionalDefault value of the property. Type is also used for creating more appropriate property types. Defaults to None.
::
>>> mywidget = Widget()
>>> mywidget.create_property('custom')
>>> mywidget.custom = True
>>> print(mywidget.custom)
True
dispatch()
Dispatch an event across all the handlers added in bind/fbind(). As soon as a handler returns
True, the dispatching stops.
The function collects all the positional and keyword arguments and passes them on to the
handlers.
Note: The handlers are called in reverse order than they were registered with bind().
Parameters
event_type: basestringthe event name to dispatch.
Changed in version 1.9.0: Keyword arguments collection and forwarding was added. Before,
only positional arguments would be collected and forwarded.
events()
Return all the events in the class. Can be used for introspection.
fbind()
A method for advanced, and typically faster binding. This method is different than bind()
and is meant for more advanced users and internal usage. It can be used as long as the
following points are heeded.
1.As opposed to bind(), it does not check that this function and largs/kwargs has not
been bound before to this name. So binding the same callback multiple times will just
keep adding it.
2.Although bind() creates a WeakMethod of the callback when binding to an event or
property, this method stores the callback directly, unless a keyword argument ref with
value True is provided and then a WeakMethod is saved. This is useful when theres no
risk of a memory leak by storing the callback directly.
3.This method returns a unique positive number if name was found and bound, and 0,
otherwise. It does not raise an exception, like bind() if the property name is not found.
If not zero, the uid returned is unique to this name and callback and can be used with
unbind_uid() for unbinding.
When binding a callback with largs and/or kwargs, funbind() must be used for unbinding.
If no largs and kwargs are provided, unbind() may be used as well. unbind_uid() can
be used in either case.
This method passes on any caught positional and/or keyword arguments to the callback,
removing the need to call partial. When calling the callback the expended largs are passed
on followed by instance/value (just instance for kwargs) followed by expended kwargs.
Following is an example of usage similar to the example in bind():
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class DemoBox(BoxLayout):
super(DemoBox, self).__init__(**kwargs)
self.orientation = "vertical"
btn = Button(text="Normal binding to event")
btn.fbind('on_press', self.on_event)
btn2 = Button(text="Normal binding to a property change")
btn2.fbind('state', self.on_property)
btn3 = Button(text="A: Using function with args.")
btn3.fbind('on_press', self.on_event_with_args, 'right',
tree='birch', food='apple')
btn4 = Button(text="Unbind A.")
btn4.fbind('on_press', self.unbind_a, btn3)
btn5 = Button(text="Use a flexible function")
btn5.fbind('on_press', self.on_anything)
btn6 = Button(text="B: Using flexible functions with args. For hardcores.")
btn6.fbind('on_press', self.on_anything, "1", "2", monthy="python")
btn7 = Button(text="Force dispatch B with different params")
btn7.fbind('on_press', btn6.dispatch, 'on_press', 6, 7, monthy="other python")
for but in [btn, btn2, btn3, btn4, btn5, btn6, btn7]:
self.add_widget(but)
def on_event(self, obj):
print("Typical event from", obj)
def on_event_with_args(self, side, obj, tree=None, food=None):
print("Event with args", obj, side, tree, food)
def on_property(self, obj, value):
print("Typical property change from", obj, "to", value)
def on_anything(self, *args, **kwargs):
print('The flexible function has *args of', str(args),
"and **kwargs of", str(kwargs))
return True
def unbind_a(self, btn, event):
btn.funbind('on_press', self.on_event_with_args, 'right',
tree='birch', food='apple')
Note: Since the kv lang uses this method to bind, one has to implement this method, instead
of bind() when creating a non EventDispatcher based class used with the kv lang. See
Observable for an example.
Changed in version 1.9.1: The ref keyword argument has been added.
funbind()
Similar to fbind().
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When unbinding, unbind() will unbind all callbacks that match the callback, while this
method will only unbind the first.
To unbind, the same positional and keyword arguments passed to fbind() must be passed
on to funbind.
Note: It is safe to use funbind() to unbind a function bound with bind() as long as no
keyword and positional arguments are provided to funbind().
get_property_observers()
Returns a list of methods that are bound to the property/event passed as the name argument:
widget_instance.get_property_observers('on_release')
Parameters
name: strThe name of the event or property.
args: boolWhether to return the bound args. To keep compatibility, only the
callback functions and not their provided args will be returned in the list when
args is False.
If True, each element in the list is a 5-tuple of (callback, largs, kwargs, is_ref, uid),
where is_ref indicates whether callback is a weakref, and uid is the uid given
by fbind(), or None if bind() was used. Defaults to False.
ReturnsThe list of bound callbacks. See args for details.
Changed in version 1.9.0: args has been added.
getter()
Return the getter of a property.
is_event_type()
Return True if the event_type is already registered.
properties()
Return all the properties in the class in a dictionary of key/property class. Can be used for
introspection.
property()
Get a property instance from the property name. If quiet is True, None is returned instead of
raising an exception when name is not a property. Defaults to False.
ReturnsA Property derived instance corresponding to the name.
Changed in version 1.9.0: quiet was added.
proxy_ref
Default implementation of proxy_ref, returns self. .. versionadded:: 1.9.0
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register_event_type()
Register an event type with the dispatcher.
Registering event types allows the dispatcher to validate event handler names as they are
attached and to search attached objects for suitable handlers. Each event type declaration
must:
1.start with the prefix on_.
2.have a default handler in the class.
Example of creating a custom event:
self.register_event_type('on_swipe')
def on_swipe(self):
pass
def on_swipe_callback(*largs):
print('my swipe is called', largs)
w = MyWidget()
w.dispatch('on_swipe')
setter()
Return the setter of a property. Use: instance.setter(name). The setter is a convenient callback function useful if you want to directly bind one property to another. It returns a partial
function that will accept (obj, value) args and results in the property name of instance being
set to value.
For example, to bind number2 to number1 in python you would do:
class ExampleWidget(Widget):
number1 = NumericProperty(None)
number2 = NumericProperty(None)
super(ExampleWidget, self).__init__(**kwargs)
self.bind(number1=self.setter('number2'))
This is equivalent to kv binding:

<ExampleWidget>:
number2: self.number1
unbind()
Unbind properties from callback functions with similar usage as bind().
If a callback has been bound to a given event or property multiple times, only the first occurrence will be unbound.
Note: It is safe to use unbind() on a function bound with fbind() as long as that function was originally bound without any keyword and positional arguments. Otherwise, the
function will fail to be unbound and you should use funbind() instead.
unbind_uid()
Uses the uid returned by fbind() to unbind the callback.
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This method is much more efficient than funbind(). If uid evaluates to False (e.g. 0) a
ValueError is raised. Also, only callbacks bound with fbind() can be unbound with this
method.
Since each call to fbind() will generate a unique uid, only one callback will be removed. If
uid is not found among the callbacks, no error is raised.
E.g.:
btn6 = Button(text="B: Using flexible functions with args. For hardcores.")
uid = btn6.fbind('on_press', self.on_anything, "1", "2", monthy="python")
if not uid:
raise Exception('Binding failed').
...
btn6.unbind_uid('on_press', uid)

unregister_event_types()
Unregister an event type in the dispatcher.
class kivy.event.ObjectWithUid
(internal) This class assists in providing unique identifiers for class instances. It it not intended
for direct usage.
class kivy.event.Observable
Observable is a stub class defining the methods required for binding. EventDispatcher is
(the) one example of a class that implements the binding interface. See EventDispatcher for
details.
fbind()
See EventDispatcher.fbind().
Note: To keep backward compatibility with derived classes which may have inherited
from Observable before, the fbind() method was added. The default implementation of fbind() is to create a partial function that it passes to bind while saving the uid
and largs/kwargs. However, funbind() (and unbind_uid()) are fairly inefficient since
we have to first lookup this partial function using the largs/kwargs or uid and then call
unbind() on the returned function. It is recommended to overwrite these methods in derived classes to bind directly for better performance.
Similarly to EventDispatcher.fbind(), this method returns 0 on failure and a positive
unique uid on success. This uid can be used with unbind_uid().
funbind()
See fbind() and EventDispatcher.funbind().
unbind_uid()
See fbind() and EventDispatcher.unbind_uid().
21.13 Factory object

The factory can be used to automatically register any class or module and instantiate classes from it
anywhere in your project. It is an implementation of the Factory Pattern.
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The class list and available modules are automatically generated by setup.py.
Example for registering a class/module:
>>> from kivy.factory import Factory
>>> Factory.register('Widget', module='kivy.uix.widget')
>>> Factory.register('Vector', module='kivy.vector')
Example of using the Factory:

>>> widget = Factory.Widget(pos=(456,456))
>>> vector = Factory.Vector(9, 2)
Example using a class name:

>>> Factory.register('MyWidget', cls=MyWidget)
By default, the first classname you register via the factory is permanent. If you wish to change the
registered class, you need to unregister the classname before you re-assign it:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
from kivy.factory import Factory

Factory.register('MyWidget', cls=MyWidget)
widget = Factory.MyWidget()
Factory.unregister('MyWidget')
Factory.register('MyWidget', cls=CustomWidget)
customWidget = Factory.MyWidget()
kivy.factory.Factory = <kivy.factory.FactoryBase object>

Factory instance to use for getting new classes
21.14 Geometry utilities

This module contains some helper functions for geometric calculations.
kivy.geometry.circumcircle(a, b, c)
Computes the circumcircle of a triangle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumscribed_circle
defined
by
a,
b,
c.
See:
Parameters
a[iterable containing at least 2 values (for x and y)] The 1st point of the triangle.
b[iterable containing at least 2 values (for x and y)] The 2nd point of the triangle.
c[iterable containing at least 2 values (for x and y)] The 3rd point of the triangle.
Return
A tuple that defines the circle :
The first element in the returned tuple is the center as (x, y)
The second is the radius (float)
kivy.geometry.minimum_bounding_circle(points)
Returns the minimum bounding circle for a set of points.
For a description of the problem being solved, see the Smallest Circle Problem.
The function uses Applets Algorithm, the runtime is O(h^3, *n), where h is the number of points
in the convex hull of the set of points. But it runs in linear time in almost all real world cases. See:
http://tinyurl.com/6e4n5yb
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Parameters
points[iterable] A list of points (2 tuple with x,y coordinates)
Return
A tuple that defines the circle:
The first element in the returned tuple is the center (x, y)
The second the radius (float)
21.15 Gesture recognition

This class allows you to easily create new gestures and compare them:
from kivy.gesture import Gesture, GestureDatabase
# Create a gesture
g = Gesture()
g.add_stroke(point_list=[(1,1), (3,4), (2,1)])
g.normalize()
# Add it to the database
gdb = GestureDatabase()
gdb.add_gesture(g)
# And for the next gesture, try to find it!
g2 = Gesture()
# ...
gdb.find(g2)
Warning: You dont really want to do this: its more of an example of how to construct gestures
dynamically. Typically, you would need a lot more points, so its better to record gestures in a file
and reload them to compare later. Look in the examples/gestures directory for an example of how
to do that.
class kivy.gesture.Gesture(tolerance=None)
A python implementation of a gesture recognition algorithm by Oleg Dopertchouk:
http://www.gamedev.net/reference/articles/article2039.asp
Implemented by Jeiel Aranal ([email protected]), released into the public domain.
add_stroke(point_list=None)
Adds a stroke to the gesture and returns the Stroke instance. Optional point_list argument is
a list of the mouse points for the stroke.
dot_product(comparison_gesture)
Calculates the dot product of the gesture with another gesture.
get_rigid_rotation(dstpts)
Extract the rotation to apply to a group of points to minimize the distance to a second group
of points. The two groups of points are assumed to be centered. This is a simple version that
just picks an angle based on the first point of the gesture.
get_score(comparison_gesture, rotation_invariant=True)
Returns the matching score of the gesture against another gesture.
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normalize(stroke_samples=32)
Runs the gesture normalization algorithm and calculates the dot product with self.
class kivy.gesture.GestureDatabase
Class to handle a gesture database.
add_gesture(gesture)
Add a new gesture to the database.
find(gesture, minscore=0.9, rotation_invariant=True)
Find a matching gesture in the database.
gesture_to_str(gesture)
Convert a gesture into a unique string.
str_to_gesture(data)
Convert a unique string to a gesture.
class kivy.gesture.GestureStroke
Gestures can be made up of multiple strokes.
add_point(x=x_pos, y=y_pos)
Adds a point to the stroke.
center_stroke(offset_x, offset_y)
Centers the stroke by offseting the points.
normalize_stroke(sample_points=32)
Normalizes strokes so that every stroke has a standard number of points. Returns True if
stroke is normalized, False if it cant be normalized. sample_points controls the resolution of
the stroke.
points_distance(point1=GesturePoint, point2=GesturePoint)
Returns the distance between two GesturePoints.
scale_stroke(scale_factor=float)
Scales the stroke down by scale_factor.
stroke_length(point_list=None)
Finds the length of the stroke. If a point list is given, finds the length of that list.
21.16 Interactive launcher

The InteractiveLauncher provides a user-friendly python shell interface to an App so that it can
be prototyped and debugged interactively.
Note: The Kivy API intends for some functions to only be run once or before the main EventLoop has
started. Methods that can normally be called during the course of an application will work as intended,
but specifically overriding methods such as on_touch() dynamically leads to trouble.
21.16.1 Creating an InteractiveLauncher

Take your existing subclass of App (this can be production code) and pass an instance to the
InteractiveLauncher constructor.:
210
from kivy.interactive import InteractiveLauncher

class MyApp(App):
def build(self):
return Button(text='Hello Shell')
launcher = InteractiveLauncher(MyApp())
launcher.run()
After pressing enter, the script will return. This allows the interpreter to continue running. Inspection
or modification of the App can be done safely through the InteractiveLauncher instance or the provided
SafeMembrane class instances.
Note: If you want to test this example, start Python without any file to have already an interpreter, and
copy/paste all the lines. Youll still have the interpreter at the end + the kivy application running.
21.16.2 Interactive Development

IPython provides a fast way to learn the Kivy API. The App instance and all of its attributes, including
methods and the entire widget tree, can be quickly listed by using the . operator and pressing tab.
Try this code in an Ipython shell.:
from
from
from
from
kivy.interactive import InteractiveLauncher

kivy.app import App
kivy.graphics import Color, Ellipse
with self.canvas:
Color(1, 1, 0)
d = 30.
Ellipse(pos=(touch.x - d/2, touch.y - d/2), size=(d, d))
class TestApp(App):
def build(self):
return Widget()
i = InteractiveLauncher(TestApp())
i.run()
i.
# press 'tab' to list attributes of the app
i.root. # press 'tab' to list attributes of the root widget
# App is boring. Attach a new widget!
i.root.add_widget(MyPaintWidget())
i.safeIn()
# The application is now blocked.
# Click on the screen several times.
i.safeOut()
# The clicks will show up now
# Erase artwork and start over
i.root.canvas.clear()
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Note: All of the proxies used in the module store their referent in the _ref attribute, which can be
accessed directly if needed, such as for getting doc strings. help() and type() will access the proxy,
not its referent.
21.16.3 Directly Pausing the Application

Both the InteractiveLauncher and SafeMembrane hold internal references to the EventLoops
safe and confirmed threading.Event objects. You can use their safing methods to control the
application manually.
SafeMembrane.safeIn() will cause the application to pause and SafeMembrane.safeOut() will
allow a paused application to continue running. This is potentially useful for scripting actions into
functions that need the screen to update etc.
Note: The pausing is implemented via the Clocks schedule_once() method and occurs before
the start of each frame.
21.16.4 Adding Attributes Dynamically

Note: This module uses threading and object proxies to encapsulate the running App. Deadlocks and
memory corruption can occur if making direct references inside the thread without going through the
provided proxy(s).
The InteractiveLauncher can have attributes added to it exactly like a normal object and if these
were created from outside the membrane, they will not be threadsafe because the external references to
them in the python interpreter do not go through InteractiveLaunchers membrane behavior, inherited
from SafeMembrane.
To threadsafe these external references, simply assign them to SafeMembrane instances of themselves
like so:
from kivy.interactive import SafeMembrane
interactiveLauncher.attribute = myNewObject
# myNewObject is unsafe
myNewObject = SafeMembrane(myNewObject)
# myNewObject is now safe. Call at will.
myNewObject.method()
TODO
Unit tests, examples, and a better explanation of which methods are safe in a running application would
be nice. All three would be excellent.
Could be re-written with a context-manager style i.e.:
with safe:
foo()
Any use cases besides compacting code?
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class kivy.interactive.SafeMembrane(ob, *args, **kwargs)

This help is for a proxy object. Did you want help on the proxys referent instead? Try using
help(<instance>._ref)
The SafeMembrane is a threadsafe proxy that also returns attributes as new thread-safe objects
and makes thread-safe method calls, preventing thread-unsafe objects from leaking into the users
environment.
safeIn()
Provides a thread-safe entry point for interactive launching.
safeOut()
Provides a thread-safe exit point for interactive launching.
class kivy.interactive.InteractiveLauncher(app=None, *args, **kwargs)
Bases: kivy.interactive.SafeMembrane
Proxy to an application instance that launches it in a thread and then returns and acts as a proxy
to the application in the thread.
21.17 Kivy Base

This module contains core Kivy functionality and is not intended for end users. Feel free to look though
it, but calling any of these methods directly may well result in unpredicatable behavior.
21.17.1 Event loop management

kivy.base.EventLoop = <kivy.base.EventLoopBase object>
EventLoop instance
class kivy.base.EventLoopBase
Main event loop. This loop handles the updating of input and dispatching events.
add_event_listener(listener)
Add a new event listener for getting touch events.
add_input_provider(provider, auto_remove=False)
Add a new input provider to listen for touch events.
add_postproc_module(mod)
Add a postproc input module (DoubleTap, TripleTap, DeJitter RetainTouch are defaults).
close()
Exit from the main loop and stop all configured input providers.
dispatch_input()
Called by idle() to read events from input providers, pass events to postproc, and dispatch
final events.
ensure_window()
Ensure that we have a window.
exit()
Close the main loop and close the window.
idle()
This function is called after every frame. By default:
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it ticks the clock to the next frame.

it reads all input and dispatches events.
it dispatches on_update, on_draw and on_flip events to the window.
on_pause()
Event handler for on_pause which will be fired when the event loop is paused.
on_start()
Event handler for on_start which will be fired right after all input providers have been started.
on_stop()
Event handler for on_stop events which will be fired right after all input providers have been
stopped.
post_dispatch_input(etype, me)
This function is called by dispatch_input() when we want to dispatch an input event. The
event is dispatched to all listeners and if grabbed, its dispatched to grabbed widgets.
remove_event_listener(listener)
Remove an event listener from the list.
remove_input_provider(provider)
Remove an input provider.
remove_postproc_module(mod)
Remove a postproc module.
run()
Main loop
set_window(window)
Set the window used for the event loop.
start()
Must be called only once before run(). This starts all configured input providers.
stop()
Stop all input providers and call callbacks registered using EventLoop.add_stop_callback().
touches
Return the list of all touches currently in down or move states.
class kivy.base.ExceptionHandler
Base handler that catches exceptions in runTouchApp(). You can subclass and extend it as follows:
class E(ExceptionHandler):
def handle_exception(self, inst):
Logger.exception('Exception catched by ExceptionHandler')
return ExceptionManager.PASS
ExceptionManager.add_handler(E())
All exceptions will be set to PASS, and logged to the console!

handle_exception(exception)
Handle one exception, defaults to returning ExceptionManager.STOP.
class kivy.base.ExceptionManagerBase
ExceptionManager manages exceptions handlers.
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add_handler(cls)
Add a new exception handler to the stack.
handle_exception(inst)
Called when an exception occured in the runTouchApp() main loop.
remove_handler(cls)
Remove a exception handler from the stack.
kivy.base.ExceptionManager = <kivy.base.ExceptionManagerBase object>
Instance of a ExceptionManagerBase implementation.
kivy.base.runTouchApp(widget=None, slave=False)
Static main function that starts the application loop. You can access some magic via the following
arguments:
Parameters
<empty>To make dispatching work, you need at least one input listener. If not,
application will leave. (MTWindow act as an input listener)
widgetIf you pass only a widget, a MTWindow will be created and your widget
will be added to the window as the root widget.
slaveNo event dispatching is done. This will be your job.
widget + slaveNo event dispatching is done. This will be your job but we try to get
the window (must be created by you beforehand) and add the widget to it. Very
usefull for embedding Kivy in another toolkit. (like Qt, check kivy-designed)
kivy.base.stopTouchApp()
Stop the current application by leaving the main loop
21.18 Kivy Language

The Kivy language is a language dedicated to describing user interface and interactions. You could
compare this language to Qts QML (http://qt.nokia.com), but we included new concepts such as rule
definitions (which are somewhat akin to what you may know from CSS), templating and so on.
Changed in version 1.7.0: The Builder doesnt execute canvas expressions in realtime anymore. It will
pack all the expressions that need to be executed first and execute them after dispatching input, just before drawing the frame. If you want to force the execution of canvas drawing, just call Builder.sync.
An experimental profiling tool for the kv lang is also included. You can activate it by setting the environment variable KIVY_PROFILE_LANG=1. It will then generate an html file named builder_stats.html.
21.18.1 Overview
The language consists of several constructs that you can use:
Rules A rule is similar to a CSS rule. A rule applies to specific widgets (or classes thereof)
in your widget tree and modifies them in a certain way. You can use rules to specify
interactive behaviour or use them to add graphical representations of the widgets they
apply to. You can target a specific class of widgets (similar to the CSS concept of a class)
by using the cls attribute (e.g. cls=MyTestWidget).
A Root Widget You can use the language to create your entire user interface. A kv file must
contain only one root widget at most.
Dynamic Classes (introduced in version 1.7.0) Dynamic classes let you create new widgets
and rules on-the-fly, without any Python declaration.
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Templates (deprecated) (introduced in version 1.0.5, deprecated from version 1.7.0) Templates
were used to populate parts of an application, such as styling the content of a list (e.g.
icon on the left, text on the right). They are now deprecated by dynamic classes.
21.18.2 Syntax of a kv File

A Kivy language file must have .kv as filename extension.
The content of the file should always start with the Kivy header, where version must be replaced with
the Kivy language version youre using. For now, use 1.0:
#:kivy `1.0`
# content here
The content can contain rule definitions, a root widget, dynamic class definitions and templates:
# Syntax of a rule definition. Note that several Rules can share the same
# definition (as in CSS). Note the braces: they are part of the definition.
<Rule1,Rule2>:
# .. definitions ..
<Rule3>:
# .. definitions ..
# Syntax for creating a root widget
RootClassName:
# .. definitions ..
# Syntax for creating a dynamic class
<NewWidget@BaseClass>:
# .. definitions ..
# Syntax for create a template
[TemplateName@BaseClass1,BaseClass2]:
# .. definitions ..
Regardless of whether its a rule, root widget, dynamic class or template youre defining, the definition
should look like this:
# With the braces it's a rule. Without them, it's a root widget.
<ClassName>:
prop1: value1
prop2: value2
canvas:
CanvasInstruction1:
canvasprop1: value1
CanvasInstruction2:
canvasprop2: value2
AnotherClass:
prop3: value1
Here prop1 and prop2 are the properties of ClassName and prop3 is the property of AnotherClass. If the
widget doesnt have a property with the given name, an ObjectProperty will be automatically created and added to the widget.
AnotherClass will be created and added as a child of the ClassName instance.
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The indentation is important and must be consistent. The spacing must be a multiple of the
number of spaces used on the first indented line. Spaces are encouraged: mixing tabs and spaces
is not recommended.
The value of a property must be given on a single line (for now at least).
The canvas property is special: you can put graphics instructions in it to create a graphical representation of the current class.
Here is a simple example of a kv file that contains a root widget:
#:kivy 1.0
Button:
text: 'Hello world'
Changed in version 1.7.0: The indentation is not limited to 4 spaces anymore. The spacing must be a
multiple of the number of spaces used on the first indented line.
Both the load_file() and the load_string() methods return the root widget defined in your kv
file/string. They will also add any class and template definitions to the Factory for later usage.
21.18.3 Value Expressions, on_property Expressions, ids and Reserved Keywords

When you specify a propertys value, the value is evaluated as a Python expression. This expression can
be static or dynamic, which means that the value can use the values of other properties using reserved
keywords.
self The keyword self references the current widget instance:
Button:
text: 'My state is %s' % self.state
root This keyword is available only in rule definitions and represents the root widget of the
rule (the first instance of the rule):
<MyWidget>:
custom: 'Hello world'
Button:
text: root.custom
app This keyword always refers to your app instance.

kivy.app.App.get_running_app() in Python.:
Its equivalent to a call to
Label:
text: app.name
args This keyword is available in on_<action> callbacks. It refers to the arguments passed
to the callback.:
TextInput:
on_focus: self.insert_text("Focus" if args[1] else "No focus")
ids
Class definitions may contain ids which can be used as a keywords::
<MyWidget>:
Button:
id: btn1
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Button:
text: 'The state of the other button is %s' % btn1.state
Please note that the id will not be available in the widget instance: it is used exclusively for external
references. id is a weakref to the widget, and not the widget itself. The widget itself can be accessed
with id.__self__ (btn1.__self__ in this case).
When the kv file is processed, weakrefs to all the widgets tagged with ids are added to the root widgets
ids dictionary. In other words, following on from the example above, the buttons state could also be
accessed as follows:
widget = MyWidget()
state = widget.ids["btn1"].state
# Or, as an alternative syntax,
state = widget.ids.btn1.state
Note that the outermost widget applies the kv rules to all its inner widgets before any other rules are
applied. This means if an inner widget contains ids, these ids may not be available during the inner
widgets __init__ function.
Valid expressons
There are two places that accept python statments in a kv file: after a property, which assigns to
the property the result of the expression (such as the text of a button as shown above) and after a
on_property, which executes the statement when the property is updated (such as on_state).
In the former case, the expression can only span a single line, cannot be extended to multiple lines using
newline escaping, and must return a value. An example of a valid expression is text: self.state
and (up if self.state == normal else down).
In the latter case, multiple single line statements are valid including multi-line statements that escape
their newline, as long as they dont add an indentation level.
Examples of valid statements are:
on_press: if self.state == 'normal': print('normal')
on_state:
if self.state == 'normal': print('normal')
else: print('down')
if self.state == 'normal': \
print('multiline normal')
for i in range(10): print(i)
print([1,2,3,4,
5,6,7])
An example of a invalid statement:

on_state:
if self.state == 'normal':
print('normal')
21.18.4 Relation Between Values and Properties

When you use the Kivy language, you might notice that we do some work behind the scenes to automatically make things work properly. You should know that Properties implement the Observer
Design Pattern. That means that you can bind your own function to be called when the value of a
property changes (i.e. you passively observe the property for potential changes).
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The Kivy language detects properties in your value expression and will create create callbacks to automatically update the property via your expression when changes occur.
Heres a simple example that demonstrates this behaviour:
Button:
text: str(self.state)
In this example, the parser detects that self.state is a dynamic value (a property). The state property of
the button can change at any moment (when the user touches it). We now want this button to display
its own state as text, even as the state changes. To do this, we use the state property of the Button and
use it in the value expression for the buttons text property, which controls what text is displayed on the
button (We also convert the state to a string representation). Now, whenever the button state changes,
the text property will be updated automatically.
Remember: The value is a python expression! That means that you can do something more interesting
like:
Button:
text: 'Plop world' if self.state == 'normal' else 'Release me!'
The Button text changes with the state of the button. By default, the button text will be Plop world,
but when the button is being pressed, the text will change to Release me!.
More precisely, the kivy language parser detects all substrings of the form X.a.b where X is self or root
or app or a known id, and a and b are properties: it then adds the appropriate dependencies to cause
the the constraint to be reevaluated whenever something changes. For example, this works exactly as
expected:
<IndexedExample>:
beta: self.a.b[self.c.d]
However, due to limitations in the parser which hopefully may be lifted in the future, the following
doesnt work:
<BadExample>:
beta: self.a.b[self.c.d].e.f
indeed the .e.f part is not recognized because it doesnt follow the expected pattern, and so, does not result in an appropriate dependency being setup. Instead, an intermediate property should be introduced
to allow the following constraint:
<GoodExample>:
alpha: self.a.b[self.c.d]
beta: self.alpha.e.f
21.18.5 Graphical Instructions

The graphical instructions are a special part of the Kivy language. They are handled by the canvas
property definition:
Widget:
canvas:
Color:
rgb: (1, 1, 1)
Rectangle:
size: self.size
pos: self.pos
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All the classes added inside the canvas property must be derived from the Instruction class. You
cannot put any Widget class inside the canvas property (as that would not make sense because a widget
is not a graphics instruction).
If you want to do theming, youll have the same question as in CSS: which rules have been executed
first? In our case, the rules are executed in processing order (i.e. top-down).
If you want to change how Buttons are rendered, you can create your own kv file and add something
like this:
<Button>:
canvas:
Color:
rgb: (1, 0, 0)
Rectangle:
pos: self.pos
size: self.size
Rectangle:
pos: self.pos
size: self.texture_size
texture: self.texture
This will result in buttons having a red background with the label in the bottom left, in addition to all
the preceding rules. You can clear all the previous instructions by using the Clear command:
<Button>:
canvas:
Clear
Color:
rgb: (1, 0, 0)
Rectangle:
pos: self.pos
size: self.size
Rectangle:
pos: self.pos
Then, only your rules that follow the Clear command will be taken into consideration.
21.18.6 Dynamic classes

Dynamic classes allow you to create new widgets on-the-fly, without any python declaration in the first
place. The syntax of the dynamic classes is similar to the Rules, but you need to specify the base classes
you want to subclass.
The syntax looks like:
# Simple inheritance
<NewWidget@Button>:
# kv code here ...
# Multiple inheritance
<NewWidget@ButtonBehavior+Label>:
# kv code here ...
The @ character is used to seperate your class name from the classes you want to subclass. The Python
equivalent would have been:
# Simple inheritance
class NewWidget(Button):
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pass
# Multiple inheritance
class NewWidget(ButtonBehavior, Label):
pass
Any new properties, usually added in python code, should be declared first. If the property doesnt
exist in the dynamic class, it will be automatically created as an ObjectProperty (pre 1.8.0) or as an
appropriate typed property (from version 1.8.0).
Changed in version 1.8.0: If the property value is an expression that can be evaluated right away (no
external binding), then the value will be used as default value of the property, and the type of the value
will be used for the specialization of the Property class. In other terms: if you declare hello: world, a
new StringProperty will be instantiated, with the default value world. Lists, tuples, dictionaries
and strings are supported.
Lets illustrate the usage of these dynamic classes with an implementation of a basic Image button. We
could derive our classes from the Button and just add a property for the image filename:
<ImageButton@Button>:
source: None
Image:
source: root.source
pos: root.pos
size: root.size
# let's use the new classes in another rule:
<MainUI>:
BoxLayout:
ImageButton:
source: 'hello.png'
on_press: root.do_something()
ImageButton:
source: 'world.png'
on_press: root.do_something_else()
In Python, you can create an instance of the dynamic class as follows:

from kivy.factory import Factory
button_inst = Factory.ImageButton()
Note: Using dynamic classes, a child class can be declared before its parent. This however, leads to
the unintuitive situation where the parent properties/methods override those of the child. Be careful if
you choose to do this.
21.18.7 Templates
Changed in version 1.7.0: Template usage is now deprecated. Please use Dynamic classes instead.
Syntax of templates
Using a template in Kivy requires 2 things :
1. a context to pass for the context (will be ctx inside template).
2. a kv definition of the template.
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Syntax of a template:
# With only one base class
[ClassName@BaseClass]:
# .. definitions ..
# With more than one base class
[ClassName@BaseClass1,BaseClass2]:
# .. definitions ..
For example, for a list, youll need to create a entry with a image on the left, and a label on the right.
You can create a template for making that definition easier to use. So, well create a template that uses
2 entries in the context: an image filename and a title:
[IconItem@BoxLayout]:
Image:
source: ctx.image
Label:
text: ctx.title
Then in Python, you can instantiate the template using:

# create a template with hello world + an image
# the context values should be passed as kwargs to the Builder.template
# function
icon1 = Builder.template('IconItem', title='Hello world',
image='myimage.png')
# create a second template with other information
ctx = {'title': 'Another hello world',
'image': 'myimage2.png'}
icon2 = Builder.template('IconItem', **ctx)
# and use icon1 and icon2 as other widget.
Template example
Most of time, when you are creating a screen in the kv lang, you use a lot of redefinitions. In our
example, well create a Toolbar, based on a BoxLayout, and put in a few Image widgets that will react
to the on_touch_down event.:
<MyToolbar>:
BoxLayout:
Image:
source: 'data/text.png'
size_hint: None, None
on_touch_down: self.collide_point(*args[1].pos) and root.create_text()
Image:
source: 'data/image.png'
on_touch_down: self.collide_point(*args[1].pos) and root.create_image()
Image:
source: 'data/video.png'
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on_touch_down: self.collide_point(*args[1].pos) and root.create_video()
We can see that the size and size_hint attribute are exactly the same. More than that, the callback in
on_touch_down and the image are changing. These can be the variable part of the template that we can
put into a context. Lets try to create a template for the Image:
[ToolbarButton@Image]:
# This is the same as before
# Now, we are using the ctx for the variable part of the template
source: 'data/%s.png' % ctx.image
on_touch_down: self.collide_point(*args[1].pos) and ctx.callback()
The template can be used directly in the MyToolbar rule:

<MyToolbar>:
BoxLayout:
ToolbarButton:
image: 'text'
callback: root.create_text
ToolbarButton:
image: 'image'
callback: root.create_image
ToolbarButton:
image: 'video'
callback: root.create_video
Thats all :)
Template limitations
When you are creating a context:
1. you cannot use references other than root:
<MyRule>:
Widget:
id: mywidget
value: 'bleh'
Template:
ctxkey: mywidget.value # << fail, this references the id
# mywidget
2. not all of the dynamic parts will be understood:

<MyRule>:
Template:
ctxkey: 'value 1' if root.prop1 else 'value2' # << even if
# root.prop1 is a property, if it changes value, ctxkey
# will not be updated
21.18.8 Redefining a widgets style

Sometimes we would like to inherit from a widget in order to use its Python properties without also
using its .kv defined style. For example, we would like to inherit from a Label, but we would also like
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to define our own canvas instructions instead of automatically using the canvas instructions inherited
from the Label. We can achieve this by prepending a dash (-) before the class name in the .kv style
definition.
In myapp.py:
class MyWidget(Label):
pass
and in my.kv:
<-MyWidget>:
canvas:
Color:
rgb: 1, 1, 1
Rectangle:
size: (32, 32)
MyWidget will now have a Color and Rectangle instruction in its canvas without any of the instructions
inherited from the Label.
21.18.9 Redefining a widgets property style

Similar to Redefining a widgets style, sometimes we would like to inherit from a widget, keep all its
KV defined styles, except for the style applied to a specific property. For example, we would like to
inherit from a Button, but we would also like to set our own state_image, rather then relying on the
background_normal and background_down values. We can achieve this by prepending a dash (-) before
the state_image property name in the .kv style definition.
In myapp.py:
class MyWidget(Button):
new_background = StringProperty('my_background.png')
and in my.kv:
<MyWidget>:
-state_image: self.new_background
MyWidget will now have a state_image background set only by new_background, and not by any previous
styles that may have set state_image.
Note: Although the previous rules are cleared, they are still applied during widget constrction, and
are only removed when the new rule with the dash is reached. This means that initially, previous rules
could be used to set the property.
21.18.10 Order of kwargs and KV rule application

Properties can be initialized in KV as well as in python. For example, in KV:
<MyRule@Widget>:
text: 'Hello'
ramp: 45.
order: self.x + 10
Then MyRule() would initialize all three kivy properties to the given KV values. Separately in python,
if the properties already exist as kivy properties one can do for example MyRule(line=Bye, side=55).
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However, what will be the final values of the properties when MyRule(text=Bye, order=55) is executed?
The quick rule is that python initialization is stronger than KV initialization only for constant rules.
Specifically, the kwargs provided to the python initializer are always applied first. So in the above
example, text is set to Bye and order is set to 55. Then, all the KV rules are applied, except those
constant rules that overwrite a python initializer provided value.
That is, the KV rules that do not creates bindings such as text: Hello and ramp: 45., if a value for that
property has been provided in python, then that rule will not be applied.
So in the MyRule(text=Bye, order=55) example, text will be Bye, ramp will be 45., and order, which
creates a binding, will first be set to 55, but then when KV rules are applied will end up being whatever
self.x + 10 is.
Changed in version 1.9.1: Before, KV rules always overwrote the python values, now, python values
are not overwritten by constant rules.
21.18.11 Lang Directives

You can use directives to add declarative commands, such as imports or constant definitions, to the
lang files. Directives are added as comments in the following format:
#:<directivename> <options>
import <package>
Syntax:
#:import <alias> <package>
You can import a package by writing:

#:import os os
<Rule>:
Button:
text: os.getcwd()
Or more complex:
#:import ut kivy.utils
<Rule>:
canvas:
Color:
rgba: ut.get_random_color()

You can directly import classes from a module:
#: import Animation kivy.animation.Animation
<Rule>:
on_prop: Animation(x=.5).start(self)
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set <key> <expr>

Syntax:
#:set <key> <expr>
Set a key that will be available anywhere in the kv. For example:
#:set my_color (.4, .3, .4)
#:set my_color_hl (.5, .4, .5)
<Rule>:
state: 'normal'
canvas:
Color:
rgb: my_color if self.state == 'normal' else my_color_hl
include <file>
Syntax:
#:include [force] <file>
Includes an external kivy file. This allows you to split complex widgets into their own files. If the
include is forced, the file will first be unloaded and then reloaded again. For example:
# Test.kv
#:include mycomponent.kv
#:include force mybutton.kv
<Rule>:
state: 'normal'
MyButton:
MyComponent:
# mycomponent.kv
#:include mybutton.kv
<MyComponent>:
MyButton:
# mybutton.kv
<MyButton>:
canvas:
Color:
rgb: (1.0, 0.0, 0.0)
Rectangle:
pos: self.pos
size: (self.size[0]/4, self.size[1]/4)
class kivy.lang.Observable
Observable is a stub class defining the methods required for binding. EventDispatcher is
(the) one example of a class that implements the binding interface. See EventDispatcher for
details.
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fbind()
See EventDispatcher.fbind().
Note: To keep backward compatibility with derived classes which may have inherited
from Observable before, the fbind() method was added. The default implementation of fbind() is to create a partial function that it passes to bind while saving the uid
and largs/kwargs. However, funbind() (and unbind_uid()) are fairly inefficient since
we have to first lookup this partial function using the largs/kwargs or uid and then call
unbind() on the returned function. It is recommended to overwrite these methods in derived classes to bind directly for better performance.
Similarly to EventDispatcher.fbind(), this method returns 0 on failure and a positive
unique uid on success. This uid can be used with unbind_uid().
funbind()
See fbind() and EventDispatcher.funbind().
unbind_uid()
See fbind() and EventDispatcher.unbind_uid().
kivy.lang.Builder = <kivy.lang.BuilderBase object>
Main instance of a BuilderBase.
class kivy.lang.BuilderBase
The Builder is responsible for creating a Parser for parsing a kv file, merging the results into its
internal rules, templates, etc.
By default, Builder is a global Kivy instance used in widgets that you can use to load other kv
files in addition to the default ones.
apply(widget, ignored_consts=set())
Search all the rules that match the widget and apply them.
ignored_consts is a set or list type whose elements are property names for which constant KV
rules (i.e. those that dont create bindings) of that widget will not be applied. This allows
e.g. skipping constant rules that overwrite a value initialized in python.
load_file(filename, **kwargs)
Insert a file into the language builder and return the root widget (if defined) of the kv file.
Parameters
rulesonly: bool, defaults to FalseIf True, the Builder will raise an exception if
you have a root widget inside the definition.
load_string(string, **kwargs)
Insert a string into the Language Builder and return the root widget (if defined) of the kv
string.
Parameters
rulesonly: bool, defaults to FalseIf True, the Builder will raise an exception if
you have a root widget inside the definition.
match(widget)
Return a list of ParserRule objects matching the widget.
sync()
Execute all the waiting operations, such as the execution of all the expressions related to the
canvas.
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template(*args, **ctx)
Create a specialized template using a specific context. .. versionadded:: 1.0.5
With templates, you can construct custom widgets from a kv lang definition by giving them
a context. Check Template usage.
unbind_property(widget, name)
Unbind the handlers created by all the rules of the widget that set the name.
This effectively clears all the rules of widget that take the form:
name: rule
For examples:
>>> w = Builder.load _ string('''
... Widget:
...
height: self.width / 2. if self.disabled else self.width
...
x: self.y + 50
... ''')
>>> w.size
[100, 100]
>>> w.pos
[50, 0]
>>> w.width = 500
>>> w.size
[500, 500]
>>> Builder.unbind _ property(w, 'height')
>>> w.width = 222
>>> w.size
[222, 500]
>>> w.y = 500
>>> w.pos
[550, 500]

unbind_widget(uid)
Unbind all the handlers created by the KV rules of the widget.
The
kivy.uix.widget.Widget.uid is passed here instead of the widget itself, because
Builder is using it in the widget destructor.
This effectively clearls all the KV rules associated with this widget. For example:
>>> w = Builder.load _ string('''
... Widget:
...
height: self.width / 2. if self.disabled else self.width
...
x: self.y + 50
... ''')
>>> w.size
[100, 100]
>>> w.pos
[50, 0]
>>> w.width = 500
>>> w.size
[500, 500]
>>> Builder.unbind _ widget(w.uid)
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>>> w.width = 222

>>> w.y = 500
>>> w.size
[222, 500]
>>> w.pos
[50, 500]

unload_file(filename)
Unload all rules associated with a previously imported file.
Warning: This will not remove rules or templates already applied/used on current widgets. It will only effect the next widgets creation or template invocation.
exception kivy.lang.BuilderException(context, line, message, cause=None)
Bases: kivy.lang.ParserException
Exception raised when the Builder failed to apply a rule on a widget.
class kivy.lang.Parser(**kwargs)
Create a Parser object to parse a Kivy language file or Kivy content.
parse(content)
Parse the contents of a Parser file and return a list of root objects.
parse_level(level, lines, spaces=0)
Parse the current level (level * spaces) indentation.
strip_comments(lines)
Remove all comments from all lines in-place. Comments need to be on a single line and not
at the end of a line. i.e. a comment lines first non-whitespace character must be a #.
exception kivy.lang.ParserException(context, line, message, cause=None)
Bases: Exception
Exception raised when something wrong happened in a kv file.
21.19 Logger object

Differents logging levels are available : trace, debug, info, warning, error and critical.
Examples of usage:
from kivy.logger import Logger
Logger.info('title: This is a info message.')
Logger.debug('title: This is a debug message.')
try:
raise Exception('bleh')
except Exception:
Logger.exception('Something happened!')
The message passed to the logger is split into two parts, separated by a colon (:). The first part is used as
a title, and the second part is used as the message. This way, you can categorize your message easily.:
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Logger.info('Application: This is a test')

# will appear as
[INFO
] [Application ] This is a test
21.19.1 Logger configuration

The Logger can be controlled via the Kivy configuration file:
[kivy]
log_level = info
log_enable = 1
log_dir = logs
log_name = kivy_%y-%m-%d_%_.txt
More information about the allowed values are described in the kivy.config module.
21.19.2 Logger history

Even if the logger is not enabled, you still have access to the last 100 messages:
from kivy.logger import LoggerHistory
print(LoggerHistory.history)
kivy.logger.Logger = <logging.Logger object>

Kivy default logger instance
class kivy.logger.LoggerHistory(level=0)
Bases: logging.Handler
Kivy history handler
21.20 Metrics
A screen is defined by its physical size, density and resolution. These factors are essential for creating
UIs with correct size everywhere.
In Kivy, all the graphics pipelines work with pixels. But using pixels as a measurement unit is problematic because sizes change according to the screen.
21.20.1 Dimensions
If you want to design your UI for different screen sizes, you will want better measurement units to work
with. Kivy provides some more scalable alternatives.
Units
pt Points - 1/72 of an inch based on the physical size of the screen. Prefer to use sp
instead of pt.
mm Millimeters - Based on the physical size of the screen.
cm Centimeters - Based on the physical size of the screen.
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in Inches - Based on the physical size of the screen.

dp Density-independent Pixels - An abstract unit that is based on the physical density
of the screen. With a density of 1, 1dp is equal to 1px. When running on a
higher density screen, the number of pixels used to draw 1dp is scaled up a factor
appropriate to the screens dpi, and the inverse for a lower dpi. The ratio of dp-topixels will change with the screen density, but not necessarily in direct proportion.
Using the dp unit is a simple solution to making the view dimensions in your
layout resize properly for different screen densities. In others words, it provides
consistency for the real-world size of your UI across different devices.
sp Scale-independent Pixels - This is like the dp unit, but it is also scaled by the users
font size preference. We recommend you use this unit when specifying font sizes,
so the font size will be adjusted to both the screen density and the users preference.
21.20.2 Examples
Here is an example of creating a label with a sp font_size and setting the height manually with a 10dp
margin:
#:kivy 1.5.0
<MyWidget>:
Label:
text: 'Hello world'
font_size: '15sp'
size_hint_y: None
height: self.texture_size[1] + dp(10)
21.20.3 Manual control of metrics

The metrics cannot be changed at runtime. Once a value has been converted to pixels, you cant retrieve
the original value anymore. This stems from the fact that the DPI and density of a device cannot be
changed at runtime.
We provide some environment variables to control metrics:
KIVY_METRICS_DENSITY: if set, this value will be used for density instead of the systems one.
On android, the value varies between 0.75, 1, 1.5 and 2.
KIVY_METRICS_FONTSCALE: if set, this value will be used for fontscale instead of the systems one. On android, the value varies between 0.8 and 1.2.
KIVY_DPI: if set, this value will be used for dpi. Please note that setting the DPI will not impact
the dp/sp notation because these are based on the screen density.
For example, if you want to simulate a high-density screen (like the HTC One X):
KIVY_DPI=320 KIVY_METRICS_DENSITY=2 python main.py --size 1280x720
Or a medium-density (like Motorola Droid 2):

KIVY_DPI=240 KIVY_METRICS_DENSITY=1.5 python main.py --size 854x480
You can also simulate an alternative user preference for fontscale as follows:
KIVY_METRICS_FONTSCALE=1.2 python main.py
kivy.metrics.Metrics = <kivy.metrics.MetricsBase object>

Default instance of MetricsBase, used everywhere in the code .. versionadded:: 1.7.0
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class kivy.metrics.MetricsBase
Class that contains the default attributes for Metrics. Dont use this class directly, but use the
Metrics instance.
density()
Return the density of the screen. This value is 1 by default on desktops but varies on android
depending on the screen.
dpi()
Return the DPI of the screen. Depending on the platform, the DPI can be taken from the
Window provider (Desktop mainly) or from a platform-specific module (like android/ios).
dpi_rounded()
Return the DPI of the screen, rounded to the nearest of 120, 160, 240 or 320.
fontscale()
Return the fontscale user preference. This value is 1 by default but can vary between 0.8 and
1.2.
kivy.metrics.pt(value)
Convert from points to pixels
kivy.metrics.inch(value)
Convert from inches to pixels
kivy.metrics.cm(value)
Convert from centimeters to pixels
kivy.metrics.mm(value)
Convert from millimeters to pixels
kivy.metrics.dp(value)
Convert from density-independent pixels to pixels
kivy.metrics.sp(value)
Convert from scale-independent pixels to pixels
kivy.metrics.metrics = <kivy.metrics.MetricsBase object>
default instance of MetricsBase, used everywhere in the code (deprecated, use Metrics instead.)
21.21 Multistroke gesture recognizer

See kivy/examples/demo/multistroke/main.py for a complete application example.
21.21.1 Conceptual Overview

This module implements the Protractor gesture recognition algorithm.
Recognizer is the search/database API similar to GestureDatabase. It maintains a list of
MultistrokeGesture objects and allows you to search for a user-input gestures among them.
ProgressTracker tracks the progress of a Recognizer.recognize() call. It can be used to interact with the running recognizer task, for example forcing it to stop half-way, or analyzing results as
they arrive.
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MultistrokeGesture represents a gesture in the gesture database (Recognizer.db). It is a container for UnistrokeTemplate objects, and implements the heap permute algorithm to automatically
generate all possible stroke orders (if desired).
UnistrokeTemplate represents a single stroke path. Its typically instantiated automatically by
MultistrokeGesture, but sometimes you may need to create them manually.
Candidate represents a user-input gesture that is used to search the gesture database for matches. It
is normally instantiated automatically by calling Recognizer.recognize().
21.21.2 Usage examples

You can bind to events on Recognizer to track the state of all calls to Recognizer.recognize().
The callback function will receive an instance of ProgressTracker that can be used to analyze and
control various aspects of the recognition process
from kivy.multistroke import Recognizer
gdb = Recognizer()
def search_start(gdb, pt):
print("A search is starting with %d tasks" % (pt.tasks))
def search_stop(gdb, pt):
# This will call max() on the result dictonary, so it's best to store
# it instead of calling it 3 times consecutively
best = pt.best
print("Search ended (%s). Best is %s (score %f, distance %f)" % (
pt.status, best['name'], best['score'], best['dist'] ))
# Bind your callbacks to track all matching operations
gdb.bind(on_search_start=search_start)
gdb.bind(on_search_complete=search_stop)
# The format below is referred to as `strokes`, a list of stroke paths.
# Note that each path shown here consists of two points, ie a straight
# line; if you plot them it looks like a T, hence the name.
gdb.add_gesture('T', [
[Vector(30, 7), Vector(103, 7)],
[Vector(66, 7), Vector(66, 87)]])
# Now you can search for the 'T' gesture using similar data (user input).
# This will trigger both of the callbacks bound above.
gdb.recognize([
[Vector(45, 8), Vector(110, 12)],
[Vector(88, 9), Vector(85, 95)]])
On the next Clock tick, the matching process starts (and, in this case, completes).
To track individual calls to Recognizer.recognize(),
ProgressTracker instance)
use the return value (also a
# Same as above, but keep track of progress using returned value

progress = gdb.recognize([
[Vector(45, 8), Vector(110, 12)],
[Vector(88, 9), Vector(85, 95)]])
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progress.bind(on_progress=my_other_callback)
print(progress.progress) # = 0
# [ assuming a kivy.clock.Clock.tick() here ]
print(result.progress) # = 1
21.21.3 Algorithm details

For more information about the matching algorithm, see:
Protractor: A fast and accurate gesture recognizer by Yang Li http://yangl.org/pdf/protractorchi2010.pdf
$N-Protractor by Lisa Anthony and Jacob O. Wobbrock http://depts.washington.edu/aimgroup/proj/dollar/ndo

protractor.pdf
Some of the code is derived from the JavaScript implementation here: http://depts.washington.edu/aimgroup/proj
class kivy.multistroke.Recognizer(**kwargs)
Recognizer provides a gesture database with matching facilities.
Events
on_search_startFired when a new search is started using this Recognizer.
on_search_completeFired when a running search ends, for whatever reason. (use
ProgressTracker.status to find out)
Properties
dbA ListProperty that contains the available MultistrokeGesture objects.
db is a ListProperty and defaults to []
add_gesture(name, strokes, **kwargs)
Add a new gesture to the database. This will instantiate a new MultistrokeGesture with
strokes and append it to self.db.
Note: If you already have instantiated a MultistrokeGesture object and wish to add it,
append it to Recognizer.db manually.
export_gesture(filename=None, **kwargs)
Export a list of MultistrokeGesture objects. Outputs a base64-encoded string that can
be decoded to a Python list with the parse_gesture() function or imported directly to
self.db using Recognizer.import_gesture(). If filename is specified, the output is
written to disk, otherwise returned.
This method accepts optional Recognizer.filter() arguments.
filter(**kwargs)
filter() returns a subset of objects in self.db, according to given criteria. This is
used by many other methods of the Recognizer; the arguments below can for example
be used when calling Recognizer.recognize() or Recognizer.export_gesture().
You normally dont need to call this directly.
Arguments
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nameLimits the returned list to gestures where MultistrokeGesture.name

matches given regular expression(s). If re.match(name, MultistrokeGesture.name) tests true, the gesture is included in the returned list. Can be a
string or an array of strings
gdb = Recognizer()
# Will match all names that start with a captial N
# (ie Next, New, N, Nebraska etc, but not "n" or "next")
gdb.filter(name='N')
# exactly 'N'
gdb.filter(name='N$')
# Nebraska, teletubbies, France, fraggle, N, n, etc
gdb.filter(name=['[Nn]', '(?i)T', '(?i)F'])
priorityLimits
the
returned
list
to
gestures
with
certain
MultistrokeGesture.priority values.
If specified as an integer,
only gestures with a lower priority are returned. If specified as a list
(min/max)
# Max priority 50
gdb.filter(priority=50)
# Max priority 50 (same result as above)
gdb.filter(priority=[0, 50])
# Min priority 50, max 100
gdb.filter(priority=[50, 100])
When this option is used, Recognizer.db is automatically sorted according

to priority, incurring extra cost. You can use force_priority_sort to override this
behavior if your gestures are already sorted according to priority.
orientation_sensitiveLimits the returned list to gestures that are orientation sensitive (True), gestures that are not orientation sensitive (False) or None (ignore
template sensitivity, this is the default).
numstrokesLimits the returned list to gestures that have the specified number of
strokes (in MultistrokeGesture.strokes). Can be a single integer or a
list of integers.
numpointsLimits the returned list to gestures that have specific
MultistrokeGesture.numpoints values. This is provided for flexibility, do not use it unless you understand what it does. Can be a single
integer or a list of integers.
force_priority_sortCan be used to override the default sort behavior. Normally
MultistrokeGesture objects are returned in priority order if the priority
option is used. Setting this to True will return gestures sorted in priority order, False will return in the order gestures were added. None means decide
automatically (the default).
Note: For improved performance, you can load your gesture database in
priority order and set this to False when calling Recognizer.recognize()
dbCan be set if you want to filter a different list of objects than
Recognizer.db. You probably dont want to do this; it is used internally
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by import_gesture().
import_gesture(data=None, filename=None, **kwargs)
Import a list of gestures as formatted by export_gesture(). One of data or filename must
be specified.
This method accepts optional Recognizer.filter() arguments, if none are specified then
all gestures in specified data are imported.
parse_gesture(data)
Parse data formatted by export_gesture(). Returns a list of MultistrokeGesture objects.
This is used internally by import_gesture(), you normally dont need to call this directly.
prepare_templates(**kwargs)
This method is used to prepare UnistrokeTemplate objects within the gestures in self.db.
This is useful if you want to minimize punishment of lazy resampling by preparing all vectors
in advance. If you do this before a call to Recognizer.export_gesture(), you will have
the vectors computed when you load the data later.
force_numpoints, if specified, will prepare all templates to the given number of points (instead
of each templates preferred n; ie UnistrokeTemplate.numpoints). You normally dont
want to do this.
recognize(strokes, goodscore=None, timeout=0, delay=0, **kwargs)
Search for gestures matching strokes. Returns a ProgressTracker instance.
Arguments
strokesA list of stroke paths (list of lists of Vector objects) that will be matched against
gestures in the database. Can also be a Candidate instance.
Warning: If you manually supply a Candidate that has a skip-flag, make sure
that the correct filter arguments are set. Otherwise the system will attempt to
load vectors that have not been computed. For example, if you set skip_bounded
and do not set orientation_sensitive to False, it will raise an exception if an orientation_sensitive UnistrokeTemplate is encountered.
goodscoreIf this is set (between 0.0 - 1.0) and a gesture score is equal to or higher than
the specified value, the search is immediately halted and the on_search_complete
event is fired (+ the on_complete event of the associated ProgressTracker instance). Default is None (disabled).
timeoutSpecifies a timeout (in seconds) for when the search is aborted and the results
returned. This option applies only when max_gpf is not 0. Default value is 0, meaning
all gestures in the database will be tested, no matter how long it takes.
max_gpf Specifies the maximum number of MultistrokeGesture objects that can be
processed per frame. When exceeded, will cause the search to halt and resume work
in the next frame. Setting to 0 will complete the search immediately (and block the
UI).
Warning: This does not limit the number of UnistrokeTemplate objects
matched! If a single gesture has a million templates, they will all be processed
in a single frame with max_gpf=1!
delaySets an optional delay between each run of the recognizer loop. Normally, a run is
scheduled for the next frame until the tasklist is exhausted. If you set this, there will
be an additional delay between each run (specified in seconds). Default is 0, resume
in the next frame.
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force_numpointsforces all templates (and candidate) to be prepared to a certain number

of points. This can be useful for example if you are evaluating templates for optimal
n (do not use this unless you understand what it does).
transfer_gesture(tgt, **kwargs)
Transfers MultistrokeGesture objects from Recognizer.db to another Recognizer instance tgt.
class kivy.multistroke.ProgressTracker(candidate, tasks, **kwargs)
Represents an ongoing (or completed) search operation. Instantiated and returned by the
Recognizer.recognize() method when it is called. The results attribute is a dictionary that
is updated as the recognition operation progresses.
Note: You do not need to instantiate this class.
Arguments
candidateCandidate object to be evaluated
tasksTotal number of gestures in tasklist (to test against)
Events
on_progressFired for every gesture that is processed
on_resultFired when a new result is added, and it is the first match for the name so far, or
a consecutive match with better score.
on_completeFired when the search is completed, for whatever reason. (use ProgressTracker.status to find out)
Attributes
resultsA dictionary of all results (so far). The key is the name of the gesture (ie
UnistrokeTemplate.name usually inherited from MultistrokeGesture). Each
item in the dictionary is a dict with the following entries:
nameName of the matched template (redundant)
scoreComputed score from 1.0 (perfect match) to 0.0
distCosine distance from candidate to template (low=closer)
gestureThe MultistrokeGesture object that was matched
best_templateIndex
of
the
best
matching
template
(in
MultistrokeGesture.templates)
template_resultsList of distances for all templates. The list index corresponds to a
UnistrokeTemplate index in gesture.templates.
status
searchCurrently working
stopWas stopped by the user (stop() called)
timeoutA timeout occured (specified as timeout= to recognize())
goodscoreThe search was stopped early because a gesture with a high enough score
was found (specified as goodscore= to recognize())
completeThe search is complete (all gestures matching filters were tested)
best
Return the best match found by recognize() so far. It returns a dictionary with three keys,
name, dist and score representing the templates name, distance (from candidate path) and
the computed score value. This is a Python property.
progress
Returns the progress as a float, 0 is 0% done, 1 is 100%. This is a Python property.
stop()
Raises a stop flag that is checked by the search process. It will be stopped on the next clock tick
(if it is still running).
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class kivy.multistroke.MultistrokeGesture(name, strokes=None, **kwargs)

MultistrokeGesture represents a gesture. It maintains a set of strokes and generates unistroke
(ie UnistrokeTemplate) permutations that are used for evaluating candidates against this gesture later.
Arguments
nameIdentifies the name of the gesture - it is returned to you in the results of a
Recognizer.recognize() search. You can have any number of MultistrokeGesture objects with the same name; many definitions of one gesture. The same name is
given to all the generated unistroke permutations. Required, no default.
strokesA list of paths that represents the gesture. A path is a list of Vector objects:
gesture = MultistrokeGesture('my_gesture', strokes=[
[Vector(x1, y1), Vector(x2, y2), ...... ], # stroke 1
[Vector(), Vector(), Vector(), Vector() ] # stroke 2
#, [stroke 3], [stroke 4], ...
])
For template matching purposes, all the strokes are combined to a single list
(unistroke). You should still specify the strokes individually, and set stroke_sensitive
True (whenever possible).
Once you do this, unistroke permutations are immediately generated and stored in
self.templates for later, unless you set the permute flag to False.
priorityDetermines when Recognizer.recognize() will attempt to match this template, lower priorities are evaluated first (only if a priority filter is used). You should
use lower priority on gestures that are more likely to match. For example, set user
templates at lower number than generic templates. Default is 100.
numpointsDetermines the number of points this gesture should be resampled to (for
matching purposes). The default is 16.
stroke_sensitiveDetermines if the number of strokes (paths) in this gesture is required
to be the same in the candidate (user input) gesture during matching. If this is False,
candidates will always be evaluated, disregarding the number of strokes. Default is
True.
orientation_sensitiveDetermines if this gesture is orientation sensitive. If True, aligns the
indicative orientation with the one of eight base orientations that requires least rotation.
Default is True.
angle_similarityThis is used by the Recognizer.recognize() function when a candidate is evaluated against this gesture. If the angles between them are too far off, the
template is considered a non-match. Default is 30.0 (degrees)
permuteIf False, do not use Heap Permute algorithm to generate different stroke orders
when instantiated. If you set this to False, a single UnistrokeTemplate built from strokes
is used.
add_stroke(stroke, permute=False)
Add a stroke to the self.strokes list. If permute is True, the permute() method is called to generate new unistroke templates
get_distance(cand, tpl, numpoints=None)
Compute the distance from this Candiate to a UnistrokeTemplate. Returns the Cosine distance
between the stroke paths.
numpoints will prepare both the UnistrokeTemplate and Candidate path to n points (when neccessary), you probably dont want to do this.
match_candidate(cand, **kwargs)
Match a given candidate against this MultistrokeGesture object. Will test against all templates
and report results as a list of four items:
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index 0Best matching templates index (in self.templates)

index 1Computed distance from the template to the candidate path
index 2List of distances for all templates.
The list index corresponds to a
UnistrokeTemplate index in self.templates.
index 3Counter for the number of performed matching operations, ie templates matched
against the candidate
permute()
Generate all possible unistroke permutations from self.strokes and save the resulting list of
UnistrokeTemplate objects in self.templates.
Quote from http://faculty.washington.edu/wobbrock/pubs/gi-10.2.pdf
We use Heap Permute [16] (p. 179) to generate all stroke orders
in a multistroke gesture. Then, to generate stroke directions for
each order, we treat each component stroke as a dichotomous
[0,1] variable. There are 2^N combinations for N strokes, so we
convert the decimal values 0 to 2^N-1, inclusive, to binary
representations and regard each bit as indicating forward (0) or
reverse (1). This algorithm is often used to generate truth tables
in propositional logic.
See section 4.1: $N Algorithm of the linked paper for details.

Warning: Using heap permute for gestures with more than 3 strokes can result in very large
number of templates (a 9-stroke gesture = 38 million templates). If you are dealing with these
types of gestures, you should manually compose all the desired stroke orders.
class kivy.multistroke.UnistrokeTemplate(name, points=None, **kwargs)
Represents a (uni)stroke path as a list of Vectors. Normally, this class is instantiated by MultistrokeGesture and not by the programmer directly. However, it is possible to manually compose
UnistrokeTemplate objects.
Arguments
nameIdentifies the name of the gesture. This is normally inherited from the parent MultistrokeGesture object when a template is generated.
pointsA list of points that represents a unistroke path. This is normally one of the possible
stroke order permutations from a MultistrokeGesture.
numpointsThe number of points this template should (ideally) be resampled to before the
matching process. The default is 16, but you can use a template-specific settings if that
improves results.
orientation_sensitiveDetermines if this template is orientation sensitive (True) or fully rotation
invariant (False). The default is True.
Note: You will get an exception if you set a skip-flag and then attempt to retrieve those vectorsa.
add_point(p)
Add a point to the unistroke/path. This invalidates all previously computed vectors.
prepare(numpoints=None)
This function prepares the UnistrokeTemplate for matching given a target number of points (for
resample). 16 is optimal.
class kivy.multistroke.Candidate(strokes=None, numpoints=16, **kwargs)
Represents a set of unistroke paths of user input, ie data to be matched against a
UnistrokeTemplate object using the Protractor algorithm. By default, data is precomputed to
239
match both rotation bounded and fully invariant UnistrokeTemplate objects.

Arguments
strokesSee MultistrokeGesture.strokes for format example. The Candidate strokes are
simply combined to a unistroke in the order given. The idea is that this will match one of
the unistroke permutations in MultistrokeGesture.templates.
numpointsThe Candidates default N; this is only for a fallback, it is not normally used since n
is driven by the UnistrokeTemplate we are being compared to.
skip_boundedIf True, do not generate/store rotation bounded vectors
skip_invariantIf True, do not generate/store rotation invariant vectors
Note that you WILL get errors if you set a skip-flag and then attempt to retrieve the data.
add_stroke(stroke)
Add a stroke to the candidate; this will invalidate all previously computed vectors
get_angle_similarity(tpl, **kwargs)
(Internal use only) Compute the angle similarity between this Candidate and a UnistrokeTemplate
object. Returns a number that represents the angle similarity (lower is more similar).
get_protractor_vector(numpoints, orientation_sens)
(Internal use only) Return vector for comparing to a UnistrokeTemplate with Protractor
get_start_unit_vector(numpoints, orientation_sens)
(Internal use only) Get the start vector for this Candidate, with the path resampled to numpoints
points. This is the first step in the matching process. It is compared to a UnistrokeTemplate objects
start vector to determine angle similarity.
prepare(numpoints=None)
Prepare the Candidate vectors. self.strokes is combined to a single unistroke (connected end-toend), resampled to numpoints points, and then the vectors are calculated and stored in self.db
(for use by get_distance and get_angle_similarity)
21.22 Parser utilities

Helper functions used for CSS parsing.
kivy.parser.parse_color(text)
Parse a string to a kivy color. Supported formats:
rgb(r, g, b)
rgba(r, g, b, a)
aaa
rrggbb
For hexadecimal values, you case also use:
#aaa
#rrggbb
kivy.parser.parse_int
alias of int
kivy.parser.parse_float
alias of float
kivy.parser.parse_string(text)
Parse a string to a string (removing single and double quotes)
kivy.parser.parse_bool(text)
Parse a string to a boolean, ignoring case. true/1 is True, false/0 is False. Anything else
throws an exception.
kivy.parser.parse_int2(text)
Parse a string to a list of exactly 2 integers.
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>>> print(parse_int2("12 54"))

12, 54
kivy.parser.parse_float4(text)
Parse a string to a list of exactly 4 floats.
>>> parse_float4('54 87. 35 0')
54, 87., 35, 0
kivy.parser.parse_filename(filename)
Parse a filename and search for it using resource_find(). If found, the resource path is returned, otherwise return the unmodified filename (as specified by the caller).
21.23 Properties
The Properties classes are used when you create an EventDispatcher.
Warning: Kivys Properties are not to be confused with Pythons properties (i.e. the @property
decorator and the <property> type).
Kivys property classes support:
Value Checking / Validation When you assign a new value to a property, the value is checked
against validation constraints. For example, validation for an OptionProperty will make sure
that the value is in a predefined list of possibilities. Validation for a NumericProperty will
check that your value is a numeric type. This prevents many errors early on.
Observer Pattern You can specify what should happen when a propertys value changes. You can
bind your own function as a callback to changes of a Property. If, for example, you want a
piece of code to be called when a widgets pos property changes, you can bind a function to it.
Better Memory Management The same instance of a property is shared across multiple widget
instances.
21.23.1 Comparison Python vs. Kivy

Basic example
Lets compare Python and Kivy properties by creating a Python class with a as a float property:
class MyClass(object):
def __init__(self, a=1.0):
super(MyClass, self).__init__()
self.a = a
With Kivy, you can do:

class MyClass(EventDispatcher):
a = NumericProperty(1.0)
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Value checking
If you wanted to add a check for a minimum / maximum value allowed for a property, here is a possible
implementation in Python:
class MyClass(object):
def __init__(self, a=1):
super(MyClass, self).__init__()
self.a_min = 0
self.a_max = 100
self.a = a
def _get_a(self):
return self._a
def _set_a(self, value):
if value < self.a_min or value > self.a_max:
raise ValueError('a out of bounds')
self._a = value
a = property(_get_a, _set_a)
The disadvantage is you have to do that work yourself. And it becomes laborious and complex if you
have many properties. With Kivy, you can simplify the process:
a = BoundedNumericProperty(1, min=0, max=100)
Thats all!
Error Handling
If setting a value would otherwise raise a ValueError, you have two options to handle the error gracefully within the property. The first option is to use an errorvalue parameter. An errorvalue is a substitute
for the invalid value:
# simply returns 0 if the value exceeds the bounds
bnp = BoundedNumericProperty(0, min=-500, max=500, errorvalue=0)
The second option in to use an errorhandler parameter. An errorhandler is a callable (single argument
function or lambda) which can return a valid substitute:
# returns the boundary value when exceeded
bnp = BoundedNumericProperty(0, min=-500, max=500,
errorhandler=lambda x: 500 if x > 500 else -500)
Conclusion
Kivy properties are easier to use than the standard ones. See the next chapter for examples of how to
use them :)
21.23.2 Observe Property changes

As we said in the beginning, Kivys Properties implement the Observer pattern. That means you can
bind() to a property and have your own function called when the value changes.
There are multiple ways to observe the changes.
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Observe using bind()

You can observe a property change by using the bind() method outside of the class:
a = NumericProperty(1)
def callback(instance, value):
print('My callback is call from', instance)
print('and the a value changed to', value)
ins = MyClass()
ins.bind(a=callback)
# At this point, any change to the a property will call your callback.
ins.a = 5
# callback called
ins.a = 5
# callback not called, because the value did not change
ins.a = -1
# callback called
Note: Property objects live at the class level and manage the values attached to instances. Re-assigning
at class level will remove the Property. For example, continuing with the code above, MyClass.a = 5
replaces the property object with a simple int.
Observe using on_<propname>

If you defined the class yourself, you can use the on_<propname> callback:
a = NumericProperty(1)
def on_a(self, instance, value):
print('My property a changed to', value)
Warning: Be careful with on_<propname>. If you are creating such a callback on a property you
are inheriting, you must not forget to call the superclass function too.
21.23.3 Binding to properties of properties.

When binding to a property of a property, for example binding to a numeric property of an object saved
in a object property, updating the object property to point to a new object will not re-bind the numeric
property to the new object. For example:
<MyWidget>:
Label:
id: first
text: 'First label'
Label:
id: second
text: 'Second label'
Button:
label: first
text: self.label.text
on_press: self.label = second
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When clicking on the button, although the label object property has changed to the second widget, the
button text will not change because it is bound to the text property of the first label directly.
In 1.9.0, the rebind option has been introduced that will allow the automatic updating of the text
when label is changed, provided it was enabled. See ObjectProperty.
class kivy.properties.Property
Base class for building more complex properties.
This class handles all the basic setters and getters, None type handling, the observer list and
storage initialisation. This class should not be directly instantiated.
By default, a Property always takes a default value:
class MyObject(Widget):
hello = Property('Hello world')
The default value must be a value that agrees with the Property type. For example, you cant set
a list to a StringProperty because the StringProperty will check the default value.
None is a special case: you can set the default value of a Property to None, but you cant set
None to a property afterward. If you really want to do that, you must declare the Property with
allownone=True:
class MyObject(Widget):
hello = ObjectProperty(None, allownone=True)
# then later
a = MyObject()
a.hello = 'bleh' # working
a.hello = None # working too, because allownone is True.
Parameters
default:Specifies the default value for the property.
**kwargs:If the parameters include errorhandler, this should be a callable which
must take a single argument and return a valid substitute value.
If the parameters include errorvalue, this should be an object. If set, it will
replace an invalid property value (overrides errorhandler).
If the parameters include force_dispatch, it should be a boolean. If True, no
value comparison will be done, so the property event will be dispatched
even if the new value matches the old value (by default identical values
are not dispatched to avoid infinite recursion in two-way binds). Be careful,
this is for advanced use only.
Changed in version 1.4.2: Parameters errorhandler and errorvalue added
Changed in version 1.9.0: Parameter force_dispatch added
bind()
Add a new observer to be called only when the value is changed.
dispatch()
Dispatch the value change to all observers.
Changed in version 1.1.0: The method is now accessible from Python.
This can be used to force the dispatch of the property, even if the value didnt change:
244
button = Button()
# get the Property class instance
prop = button.property('text')
# dispatch this property on the button instance
prop.dispatch(button)
fbind()
Similar to bind, except it doesnt check if the observer already exists. It also expands and
forwards largs and kwargs to the callback. funbind or unbind_uid should be called when
unbinding. It returns a unique positive uid to be used with unbind_uid.
funbind()
Remove the observer from our widget observer list bound with fbind. It removes the first
match it finds, as opposed to unbind which searches for all matches.
get()
Return the value of the property.
link()
Link the instance with its real name.
Warning: Internal usage only.
When a widget is defined and uses a Property class, the creation of the property object
happens, but the instance doesnt know anything about its name in the widget class:
uid = NumericProperty(0)
In this example, the uid will be a NumericProperty() instance, but the property instance
doesnt know its name. Thats why link() is used in Widget.__new__. The link function is
also used to create the storage space of the property for this specific widget instance.
set()
Set a new value for the property.
unbind()
Remove the observer from our widget observer list.
unbind_uid()
Remove the observer from our widget observer list bound with fbind using the uid.
class kivy.properties.NumericProperty
Bases: kivy.properties.Property
Property that represents a numeric value.
Parameters
defaultvalue: int or float, defaults to 0Specifies the default value of the property.
>>> wid = Widget()
>>> wid.x = 42
>>> print(wid.x)
42
>>> wid.x = "plop"
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
File "properties.pyx", line 93, in kivy.properties.Property.__set__
File "properties.pyx", line 111, in kivy.properties.Property.set
File "properties.pyx", line 159, in kivy.properties.NumericProperty.check
ValueError: NumericProperty accept only int/float
245
Changed in version 1.4.1: NumericProperty can now accept custom text and tuple value to indicate a type, like in, pt, px, cm, mm, in the format: 10pt or (10, pt).
get_format()
Return the format used for Numeric calculation. Default is px (mean the value have not
been changed at all). Otherwise, it can be one of in, pt, cm, mm.
class kivy.properties.StringProperty
Property that represents a string value.
Parameters
defaultvalue: string, defaults to Specifies the default value of the property.
class kivy.properties.ListProperty
Property that represents a list.
Parameters
defaultvalue: list, defaults to []Specifies the default value of the property.
Warning: When assigning a list to a ListProperty, the list stored in the property is a copy
of the list and not the original list. This can be demonstrated with the following example:
>>> class MyWidget(Widget):
>>>
my_list = ListProperty([])
>>> widget = MyWidget()
>>> my_list = widget.my_list = [1, 5, 7]
>>> print my_list is widget.my_list
False
>>> my_list.append(10)
>>> print(my_list, widget.my_list)
[1, 5, 7, 10], [1, 5, 7]
class kivy.properties.ObjectProperty
Property that represents a Python object.
Parameters
defaultvalue: object typeSpecifies the default value of the property.
rebind: bool, defaults to FalseWhether kv rules using this object as an intermediate attribute in a kv rule, will update the bound property when this object
changes.
That is the standard behavior is that if theres a kv rule text:
self.a.b.c.d, where a, b, and c are properties with rebind False
and d is a StringProperty. Then when the rule is applied, text becomes bound only to d. If a, b, or c change, text still remains bound to d.
Furthermore, if any of them were None when the rule was initially evaluated, e.g. b was None; then text is bound to b and will not become bound
to d even when b is changed to not be None.
By setting rebind to True, however, the rule will be re-evaluated and
all the properties rebound when that intermediate property changes. E.g.
in the example above, whenever b changes or becomes not None if it was
None before, text is evaluated again and becomes rebound to d. The overall result is that text is now bound to all the properties among a, b, or c
that have rebind set to True.
**kwargs: a list of keyword arguments
246
baseclassIf kwargs includes a baseclass argument, this value will be used

for validation: isinstance(value, kwargs[baseclass]).
Warning: To mark the property as changed, you must reassign a new python object.
Changed in version 1.9.0: rebind has been introduced.
Changed in version 1.7.0: baseclass parameter added.
class kivy.properties.BooleanProperty
Property that represents only a boolean value.
Parameters
defaultvalue: booleanSpecifies the default value of the property.
class kivy.properties.BoundedNumericProperty
Property that represents a numeric value within a minimum bound and/or maximum bound
within a numeric range.
Parameters
default: numericSpecifies the default value of the property.
**kwargs: a list of keyword argumentsIf a min parameter is included, this specifies the minimum numeric value that will be accepted. If a max parameter is
included, this specifies the maximum numeric value that will be accepted.
bounds
Return min/max of the value.
get_max()
Return the maximum value acceptable for the BoundedNumericProperty in obj. Return
None if no maximum value is set. Check get_min for a usage example.
get_min()
Return the minimum value acceptable for the BoundedNumericProperty in obj. Return
None if no minimum value is set:
number = BoundedNumericProperty(0, min=-5, max=5)
widget = MyWidget()
print(widget.property('number').get_min(widget))
# will output -5

set_max()
Change the maximum value acceptable for the BoundedNumericProperty, only for the obj
instance. Set to None if you want to disable it. Check set_min for a usage example.
Warning: Changing the bounds doesnt revalidate the current value.
set_min()
Change the minimum value acceptable for the BoundedNumericProperty, only for the obj
instance. Set to None if you want to disable it:
247
number = BoundedNumericProperty(0, min=-5, max=5)
widget = MyWidget()
# change the minmium to -10
widget.property('number').set_min(widget, -10)
# or disable the minimum check
widget.property('number').set_min(widget, None)
Warning: Changing the bounds doesnt revalidate the current value.

class kivy.properties.OptionProperty
Property that represents a string from a predefined list of valid options.
If the string set in the property is not in the list of valid options (passed at property creation time),
a ValueError exception will be raised.
Parameters
default: any valid type in the list of optionsSpecifies the default value of the
property.
**kwargs: a list of keyword argumentsShould include an options parameter
specifying a list (not tuple) of valid options.
For example:
state = OptionProperty("None", options=["On", "Off", "None"])
options
Return the options available.
class kivy.properties.ReferenceListProperty
Property that allows the creation of a tuple of other properties.
For example, if x and y are NumericPropertys, we can create a ReferenceListProperty
for the pos. If you change the value of pos, it will automatically change the values of x and y
accordingly. If you read the value of pos, it will return a tuple with the values of x and y.
For example:
class MyWidget(EventDispatcher):
x = NumericProperty(0)
y = NumericProperty(0)
pos = ReferenceListProperty(x, y)
class kivy.properties.AliasProperty
Create a property with a custom getter and setter.
If you dont find a Property class that fits to your needs, you can make your own by creating
custom Python getter and setter methods.
Example from kivy/uix/widget.py:
248
def get_right(self):
return self.x + self.width
def set_right(self, value):
self.x = value - self.width
right = AliasProperty(get_right, set_right, bind=['x', 'width'])
Parameters
getter: functionFunction to use as a property getter
setter: functionFunction to use as a property setter. Properties listening to the
alias property wont be updated when the property is set (e.g. right = 10),
unless the setter returns True.
bind: list/tupleProperties to observe for changes, as property name strings
cache: booleanIf True, the value will be cached, until one of the binded elements
will changes
rebind: bool, defaults to FalseSee ObjectProperty for details.
Changed in version 1.4.0: Parameter cache added.
class kivy.properties.DictProperty
Property that represents a dict.
Parameters
defaultvalue: dict, defaults to NoneSpecifies the default value of the property.
rebind: bool, defaults to FalseSee ObjectProperty for details.
Warning: Similar to ListProperty, when assigning a dict to a DictProperty, the dict
stored in the property is a copy of the dict and not the original dict. See ListProperty for
details.
class kivy.properties.VariableListProperty
A ListProperty that allows you to work with a variable amount of list items and to expand them
to the desired list size.
For example, GridLayouts padding used to just accept one numeric value which was applied
equally to the left, top, right and bottom of the GridLayout. Now padding can be given one, two
or four values, which are expanded into a length four list [left, top, right, bottom] and stored in
the property.
Parameters
default: a default list of valuesSpecifies the default values for the list.
length: int, one of 2 or 4.Specifies the length of the final list. The default list will
be expanded to match a list of this length.
**kwargs: a list of keyword argumentsNot currently used.
Keeping in mind that the default list is expanded to a list of length 4, here are some examples of
how VariabelListPropertys are handled.
VariableListProperty([1]) represents [1, 1, 1, 1].
VariableListProperty([1, 2]) represents [1, 2, 1, 2].
VariableListProperty([1px, (2, px), 3, 4.0]) represents [1, 2, 3, 4.0].
VariableListProperty(5) represents [5, 5, 5, 5].
VariableListProperty(3, length=2) represents [3, 3].
class kivy.properties.ConfigParserProperty
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Property that allows one to bind to changes in the configuration values of a ConfigParser as
well as to bind the ConfigParser values to other properties.
A ConfigParser is composed of sections, where each section has a number of keys and values
associated with these keys. ConfigParserProperty lets you automatically listen to and change the
values of specified keys based on other kivy properties.
For example, say we want to have a TextInput automatically write its value, represented as an
int, in the info section of a ConfigParser. Also, the textinputs should update its values from the
ConfigParsers fields. Finally, their values should be displayed in a label. In py:
class Info(Label):
number = ConfigParserProperty(0, 'info', 'number', 'example',
val_type=int, errorvalue=41)
def __init__(self, **kw):
super(Info, self).__init__(**kw)
config = ConfigParser(name='example')
The above code creates a property that is connected to the number key in the info section of the
ConfigParser named example. Initially, this ConfigParser doesnt exist. Then, in __init__, a ConfigParser is created with name example, which is then automatically linked with this property. then
in kv:
BoxLayout:
TextInput:
id: number
text: str(info.number)
Info:
id: info
number: number.text
text: 'Number: {}'.format(self.number)
Youll notice that we have to do text: str(info.number), this is because the value of this property is
always an int, because we specified int as the val_type. However, we can assign anything to the
property, e.g. number: number.text which assigns a string, because it is instantly converted with
the val_type callback.
Note: If a file has been opened for this ConfigParser using read(), then write() will be called
every property change, keeping the file updated.
Warning: It is recommend that the config parser object be assigned to the property after
the kv tree has been constructed (e.g. schedule on next frame from init). This is because the
kv tree and its properties, when constructed, are evaluated on its own order, therefore, any
initial values in the parser might be overwritten by objects its bound to. So in the example
above, the TextInput might be initially empty, and if number: number.text is evaluated before
text: str(info.number), the config value will be overwitten with the (empty) text value.
Parameters
default: object typeSpecifies the default value for the key. If the parser associated with this property doesnt have this section or key, itll be created
with the current value, which is the default value initially.
section: string typeThe section in the ConfigParser where the key / value will
be written. Must be provided. If the section doesnt exist, itll be created.
key: string typeThe key in section section where the value will be written to.
Must be provided. If the key doesnt exist, itll be created and the current
value written to it, otherwise its value will be used.
250
config: string or ConfigParser instance.The ConfigParser instance to associate with this property if not None. If its a string, the ConfigParser instance whose name is the value of config will be used. If no such parser
exists yet, whenever a ConfigParser with this name is created, it will automatically be linked to this property.
Whenever a ConfigParser becomes linked with a property, if the section
or key doesnt exist, the current property value will be used to create that
key, otherwise, the existing key value will be used for the property value;
overwriting its current value. You can change the ConfigParser associated
with this property if a string was used here, by changing the name of an
existing or new ConfigParser instance. Or through set_config().
**kwargs: a list of keyword arguments
val_type: a callable objectThe key values are saved in the ConfigParser as
strings. When the ConfigParser value is read internally and assigned
to the property or when the user changes the property value directly,
if val_type is not None, it will be called with the new value as input
and it should return the value converted to the proper type accepted
ny this property. For example, if the property represent ints, val_type
can simply be int.
If the val_type callback raises a ValueError, errorvalue or errorhandler
will be used if provided. Tip: the getboolean function of the ConfigParser might also be useful here to convert to a boolean type.
verify: a callable objectCan be used to restrict the allowable values of the
property. For every value assigned to the property, if this is specified,
verify is called with the new value, and if it returns True the value is
accepted, otherwise, errorvalue or errorhandler will be used if provided
or a ValueError is raised.
set_config()
Sets the ConfigParser object to be used by this property. Normally, the ConfigParser is set
when initializing the Property using the config parameter.
Parameters
config: A ConfigParser instance.The instance to use for listening to and
saving property value changes. If None, it disconnects the currently
used ConfigParser.
username = ConfigParserProperty('', 'info', 'name', None)
widget = MyWidget()
widget.property('username').set_config(ConfigParser())
21.24 Resources management

Resource management can be a pain if you have multiple paths and projects. Kivy offers 2 functions for
searching for specific resources across a list of paths.
kivy.resources.resource_find(filename)
Search for a resource in the list of paths. Use resource_add_path to add a custom path to the
search.
kivy.resources.resource_add_path(path)
Add a custom path to search in.
251
kivy.resources.resource_remove_path(path)
Remove a search path.
21.25 Support
Activate other frameworks/toolkits inside the kivy event loop.
kivy.support.install_gobject_iteration()
Import and install gobject context iteration inside our event loop. This is used as soon as gobject
is used (like gstreamer).
kivy.support.install_twisted_reactor(**kwargs)
Installs a threaded twisted reactor, which will schedule one reactor iteration before the next frame
only when twisted needs to do some work.
Any arguments or keyword arguments passed to this function will be passed on the the threadedselect reactors interleave function. These are the arguments one would usually pass to twisteds
reactor.startRunning.
Unlike the default twisted reactor, the installed reactor will not handle any signals unless you set
the installSignalHandlers keyword argument to 1 explicitly. This is done to allow kivy to handle
the signals as usual unless you specifically want the twisted reactor to handle the signals (e.g.
SIGINT).
Note: Twisted is not included in iOS build by default. To use it on iOS, put the twisted distribution (and zope.interface dependency) in your application directory.
kivy.support.uninstall_twisted_reactor()
Uninstalls the Kivys threaded Twisted Reactor. No more Twisted tasks will run after this got
called. Use this to clean the twisted.internet.reactor .
kivy.support.install_android()
Install hooks for the android platform.
Automatically sleep when the device is paused.
Automatically kill the application when the return key is pressed.
21.26 Utils
The Utils module provides a selection of general utility functions and classes that may be useful for
various applications. These include maths, color, algebraic and platform functions.
Changed in version 1.6.0: The OrderedDict class has been removed. Use collections.OrderedDict instead.
kivy.utils.intersection(set1, set2)
Return the intersection of 2 lists.
kivy.utils.difference(set1, set2)
Return the difference between 2 lists.
kivy.utils.strtotuple(s)
Convert a tuple string into a tuple with some security checks. Designed to be used with the eval()
function:
252
a = (12, 54, 68)

b = str(a)
c = strtotuple(b)
# return '(12, 54, 68)'

# return (12, 54, 68)
kivy.utils.get_color_from_hex(s)
Transform a hex string color to a kivy Color.
kivy.utils.get_hex_from_color(color)
Transform a kivy Color to a hex value:
>>> get_hex_from_color((0, 1, 0))
'#00ff00'
>>> get_hex_from_color((.25, .77, .90, .5))
'#3fc4e57f'

kivy.utils.get_random_color(alpha=1.0)
Returns a random color (4 tuple).
Parameters
alpha[float, defaults to 1.0] If alpha == random, a random alpha value is generated.
kivy.utils.is_color_transparent(c)
Return True if the alpha channel is 0.
kivy.utils.boundary(value, minvalue, maxvalue)
Limit a value between a minvalue and maxvalue.
kivy.utils.deprecated(func)
This is a decorator which can be used to mark functions as deprecated. It will result in a warning
being emitted the first time the function is used.
class kivy.utils.SafeList
Bases: builtins.list
List with a clear() method.
Warning: Usage of the iterate() function will decrease your performance.
kivy.utils.interpolate(value_from, value_to, step=10)
Interpolate between two values. This can be useful for smoothing some transitions. For example:
# instead of setting directly
self.pos = pos
# use interpolate, and you'll have a nicer transition
self.pos = interpolate(self.pos, new_pos)
Warning: These interpolations work only on lists/tuples/doubles with the same dimensions.
No test is done to check the dimensions are the same.
class kivy.utils.QueryDict
Bases: builtins.dict
QueryDict is a dict() that can be queried with dot.
253
d = QueryDict()
# create a key named toto, with the value 1
d.toto = 1
# it's the same as
d['toto'] = 1
kivy.utils.platform = platform name: linux from: <kivy.utils.Platform object>

platform is a string describing the current Operating System. It is one of: win, linux, android,
macosx, ios or unknown. You can use it as follows:
from kivy import platform
if platform == 'linux':
do_linux_things()
if platform() == 'linux': # triggers deprecation warning
do_more_linux_things()

Changed in version 1.8.0: platform is now a variable instead of a function.
kivy.utils.escape_markup(text)
Escape markup characters found in the text. Intended to be used when markup text is activated
on the Label:
untrusted_text = escape_markup('Look at the example [1]')
text = '[color=ff0000]' + untrusted_text + '[/color]'
w = Label(text=text, markup=True)

class kivy.utils.reify(func)
Put the result of a method which uses this (non-data) descriptor decorator in the instance dict
after the first call, effectively replacing the decorator with an instance variable.
It acts like @property, except that the function is only ever called once; after that, the value is
cached as a regular attribute. This gives you lazy attribute creation on objects that are meant to be
immutable.
Taken from the Pyramid project.
To use this as a decorator:
@reify
def lazy(self):
...
return hard_to_compute_int
first_time = self.lazy
# lazy is reify obj, reify.__get__() runs
_
second time = self.lazy # lazy is hard_to_compute_int
21.27 Vector
The Vector represents a 2D vector (x, y). Our implementation is built on top of a Python list.
An example of constructing a Vector:
254
>>>
>>>
>>>
82
>>>
82
>>>
34
>>>
34
# Construct a point at 82,34

v = Vector(82, 34)
v[0]
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
93
>>>
93
>>>
45
>>>
45
# Construct by giving a list of 2 values

pos = (93, 45)
v = Vector(pos)
v[0]
v.x
v[1]
v.y
v.x
v[1]
v.y
21.27.1 Optimized usage

Most of the time, you can use a list for arguments instead of using a Vector. For example, if you want to
calculate the distance between 2 points:
a = (10, 10)
b = (87, 34)
# optimized method
print('distance between a and b:', Vector(a).distance(b))
# non-optimized method
va = Vector(a)
vb = Vector(b)
print('distance between a and b:', va.distance(vb))
21.27.2 Vector operators

The Vector supports some numeric operators such as +, -, /:
>>> Vector(1, 1) + Vector(9, 5)
[10, 6]
>>> Vector(9, 5) - Vector(5, 5)
[4, 0]
>>> Vector(10, 10) / Vector(2., 4.)
[5.0, 2.5]
>>> Vector(10, 10) / 5.
[2.0, 2.0]
You can also use in-place operators:
255
>>> v = Vector(1, 1)
>>> v += 2
>>> v
[3, 3]
>>> v *= 5
[15, 15]
>>> v /= 2.
[7.5, 7.5]
class kivy.vector.Vector(*largs)
Bases: builtins.list
Vector class. See module documentation for more information.
angle(a)
Computes the angle between a and b, and returns the angle in degrees.
>>> Vector(100, 0).angle((0, 100))
-90.0
>>> Vector(87, 23).angle((-77, 10))
-157.7920283010705
distance(to)
Returns the distance between two points.
>>> Vector(10, 10).distance((5, 10))
5.
>>> a = (90, 33)
>>> b = (76, 34)
>>> Vector(a).distance(b)
14.035668847618199
distance2(to)
Returns the distance between two points squared.
>>> Vector(10, 10).distance2((5, 10))
25
dot(a)
Computes the dot product of a and b.
>>> Vector(2, 4).dot((2, 2))
12
static in_bbox(point, a, b)
Return True if point is in the bounding box defined by a and b.
>>> bmin = (0, 0)
>>> bmax = (100, 100)
>>> Vector.in_bbox((50, 50), bmin, bmax)
True
>>> Vector.in_bbox((647, -10), bmin, bmax)
False
length()
Returns the length of a vector.
256
>>> Vector(10, 10).length()

14.142135623730951
>>> pos = (10, 10)
>>> Vector(pos).length()
14.142135623730951
length2()
Returns the length of a vector squared.
>>> Vector(10, 10).length2()
200
>>> pos = (10, 10)
>>> Vector(pos).length2()
200
static line_intersection(v1, v2, v3, v4)

Finds the intersection point between the lines (1)v1->v2 and (2)v3->v4 and returns it as a
vector object.
>>> a = (98, 28)
>>> b = (72, 33)
>>> c = (10, -5)
>>> d = (20, 88)
>>> Vector.line_intersection(a, b, c, d)
[15.25931928687196, 43.911669367909241]
Warning: This is a line intersection method, not a segment intersection.

For math see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line-line_intersection
normalize()
Returns a new vector that has the same direction as vec, but has a length of one.
>>> v = Vector(88, 33).normalize()
>>> v
[0.93632917756904444, 0.3511234415883917]
>>> v.length()
1.0
rotate(angle)
Rotate the vector with an angle in degrees.
>>> v = Vector(100, 0)
>>> v.rotate(45)
>>> v
[70.710678118654755, 70.710678118654741]
static segment_intersection(v1, v2, v3, v4)

Finds the intersection point between segments (1)v1->v2 and (2)v3->v4 and returns it as a
vector object.
>>> a = (98, 28)
>>> b = (72, 33)
>>> c = (10, -5)
>>> d = (20, 88)
>>> Vector.segment_intersection(a, b, c, d)
None
257
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
[5,
a = (0, 0)
b = (10, 10)
c = (0, 10)
d = (10, 0)
Vector.segment_intersection(a, b, c, d)
5]
x
x represents the first element in the list.
>>> v = Vector(12, 23)
>>> v[0]
12
>>> v.x
12
y
y represents the second element in the list.
>>> v = Vector(12, 23)
>>> v[1]
23
>>> v.y
23
21.28 Weak Method

The WeakMethod is used by the Clock class to allow references to a bound method that permits the
associated object to be garbage collected. Please refer to examples/core/clock_method.py for more information.
This WeakMethod class is taken from the recipe http://code.activestate.com/recipes/81253/, based on
the nicodemus version. Many thanks nicodemus!
class kivy.weakmethod.WeakMethod(method)
Implementation of a weakref for functions and bound methods.
is_dead()
Returns True if the referenced callable was a bound method and the instance no longer
exists. Otherwise, return False.
258
CHAPTER
TWENTYTWO
ADAPTERS
An adapter is a mediating controller-type class that processes and presents data for use in views. It does
this by generating models, generally lists of SelectableView items, that are consumed and presented
by views. Views are top-level widgets, such as a ListView, that allow users to scroll through and
(optionally) interact with your data.
22.1 The Concept

Kivy adapters are modelled on the Adapter design pattern. Conceptually, they play the role of a controller between you data and views in a Model-View-Controller type architecture.
The role of an adapter can be depicted as follows:
22.2 The Components

The components involved in this process are:
Adapters: The adapter plays a mediating role between the user interface and your data. It manages the creation of the view elements for the model using the args_converter to prepare the
contructor arguments for your cls/template view items.
259
The base Adapter is subclassed by the SimpleListAdapter and ListAdapter.

DictAdapter is a more advanced and flexible subclass of ListAdapter.
The
Adapter, SimpleListAdapter, ListAdapter, DictAdapter.

Models: The data for which an adapter serves as a bridge to views can be any sort of data. However, for convenience, model mixin classes can ease the preparation or shaping of data for use
in the system. For selection operations, the SelectableDataItem can optionally prepare data
items to provide and receive selection information (data items are not required to be selectionaware, but in some cases it may be desired).
SelectableDataItem.
Args Converters: Argument converters are made by the application programmer to do the work
of converting data items to argument dictionaries suitable for instantiating views. In effect, they
take each row of your data and create dictionaries that are passed into the constructors of your
cls/template which are then used populate your View.
List Item View Argument Converters.
Views: Models of your data are presented to the user via views. Each of your data items create
a corresponding view subitem (the cls or template) presented in a list by the View. The base
AbstractView currently has one concrete implementation: the ListView.
Abstract View, List View.
22.3 Adapter
New in version 1.5.
Warning: This code is still experimental, and its API is subject to change in a future version.
An Adapter is a bridge between data and an AbstractView or one of its subclasses, such as a
ListView.
The following arguments can be passed to the contructor to initialise the corresponding properties:
data: for any sort of data to be used in a view. For an Adapter, data can be an object as well as
a list, dict, etc. For a ListAdapter, data should be a list. For a DictAdapter, data should be a
dict.
cls: the class used to instantiate each list item view instance (Use this or the template argument).
template: a kv template to use to instantiate each list item view instance (Use this or the cls
argument).
args_converter: a function used to transform the data items in preparation for either a cls
instantiation or a kv template invocation. If no args_converter is provided, the data items are
assumed to be simple strings.
Please refer to the adapters documentation for an overview of how adapters are used.
class kivy.adapters.adapter.Adapter(**kwargs)
An Adapter is a bridge between data and an AbstractView or one of its subclasses, such as a
ListView.
args_converter
A function that prepares an args dict for the cls or kv template to build a view from a data
item.
260
If an args_converter is not provided, a default one is set that assumes simple content in the
form of a list of strings.
args_converter is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
cls
A class for instantiating a given view item (Use this or template). If this is not set and neither
is the template, a Label is used for the view item.
cls is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
data
The data for which a view is to be constructed using either the cls or template provided,
together with the args_converter provided or the default args_converter.
In this base class, data is an ObjectProperty, so it could be used for a wide variety of singleview needs.
Subclasses may override it in order to use another data type, such as a ListProperty or
DictProperty as appropriate. For example, in a ListAdapter, data is a ListProperty.
data is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
get_cls()
Returns the widget type specified by self.cls. If it is a string, the Factory is queried to
retrieve the widget class with the given name, otherwise it is returned directly.
template
A kv template for instantiating a given view item (Use this or cls).
template is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
22.4 DictAdapter
New in version 1.5.
A DictAdapter is an adapter around a python dictionary of records. It extends the list-like capabilities
of the ListAdapter.
If you wish to have a bare-bones list adapter, without selection, use the SimpleListAdapter.
class kivy.adapters.dictadapter.DictAdapter(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.adapters.listadapter.ListAdapter
A DictAdapter is an adapter around a python dictionary of records. It extends the list-like
capabilities of the ListAdapter.
cut_to_sel(*args)
Same as trim_to_sel, but intervening list items within the selected range are also cut, leaving
only list items that are selected.
sorted_keys will be updated by update_for_new_data().
data
A dict that indexes records by keys that are equivalent to the keys in sorted_keys, or they
are a superset of the keys in sorted_keys.
The values can be strings, class instances, dicts, etc.
data is a DictProperty and defaults to None.
261
sorted_keys
The sorted_keys list property contains a list of hashable objects (can be strings) that will be
used directly if no args_converter function is provided. If there is an args_converter, the
record received from a lookup of the data, using keys from sorted_keys, will be passed to it
for instantiation of list item view class instances.
sorted_keys is a ListProperty and defaults to [].
trim_left_of_sel(*args)
Cut list items with indices in sorted_keys that are less than the index of the first selected
item, if there is a selection.
trim_right_of_sel(*args)
Cut list items with indices in sorted_keys that are greater than the index of the last selected
item, if there is a selection.
trim_to_sel(*args)
Cut list items with indices in sorted_keys that are les than or greater than the index of the
last selected item, if there is a selection. This preserves intervening list items within the
selected range.
22.5 List Item View Argument Converters

New in version 1.5.
The default list item args converter for list adapters is a function (shown below) that takes a row index
and a string. It returns a dict with the string as the text item, along with two properties suited for simple
text items with a height of 25.
22.5.1 Simple Usage

Argument converters may be normal functions or, as in the case of the default args converter, lambdas:
list_item_args_converter = lambda row_index, x: {'text': x,
'size_hint_y': None,
'height': 25}
22.5.2 Advanced Usage

Typically, having the argument converter perform a simple mapping suffices. There are times, however,
when more complex manipulation is required. When using a CompositeListItem, it is possible to
specify a list of cls dictionaries. This allows you so compose a single view item out of multiple classes,
each of which can recieve their own class constructor arguments via the kwargs keyword:
args_converter = lambda row_index, rec: \
{'text': rec['text'],
'height': 25,
'cls_dicts': [{'cls': ListItemButton,
'kwargs': {'text': rec['text']}},
{'cls': ListItemLabel,
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'kwargs': {'text': "Middle-{0}".format(rec['text']),

'is_representing_cls': True}},
{'cls': ListItemButton,
'kwargs': {'text': rec['text']}}]}
Please see the list_composite.py for a complete example.
22.6 ListAdapter
New in version 1.5.
A ListAdapter is an adapter around a python list and adds support for selection operations. If you
wish to have a bare-bones list adapter, without selection, use a SimpleListAdapter.
From an Adapter, a ListAdapter inherits cls, template, and args_converter properties and adds
others that control selection behaviour:
selection: a list of selected items.
selection_mode: one of single, multiple or none.
allow_empty_selection: a boolean. If False, a selection is forced. If True, and only user or
programmatic action will change selection, it can be empty.
A DictAdapter is a subclass of a ListAdapter. They both dispatch the on_selection_change
event when selection changes.
Changed in version 1.6.0: Added data = ListProperty([]), which was proably inadvertently deleted at
some point. This means that whenever data changes an update will fire, instead of having to reset the
data object (Adapter has data defined as an ObjectProperty, so we need to reset it here to ListProperty).
See also DictAdapter and its set of data = DictProperty().
class kivy.adapters.listadapter.ListAdapter(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.adapters.adapter.Adapter, kivy.event.EventDispatcher
A base class for adapters interfacing with lists, dictionaries or other collection type data, adding
selection, view creation and management functonality.
allow_empty_selection
The allow_empty_selection may be used for cascading selection between several list views,
or between a list view and an observing view. Such automatic maintenance of the selection
is important for all but simple list displays. Set allow_empty_selection to False and the
selection is auto-initialized and always maintained, so any observing views may likewise be
updated to stay in sync.
allow_empty_selection is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True.
cached_views
View instances for data items are instantiated and managed by the adapter. Here we maintain a dictionary containing the view instances keyed to the indices in the data.
This dictionary works as a cache. get_view() only asks for a view from the adapter if one is
not already stored for the requested index.
cached_views is a DictProperty and defaults to {}.
create_view(index)
This method is more complicated than the ones in the Adapter and SimpleListAdapter
classes because here we create bindings for the data items and their children back to the
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self.handle_selection() event. We also perform other selection-related tasks to keep item views
in sync with the data.
cut_to_sel(*args)
Same as trim_to_sel, but intervening list items within the selected range are also cut, leaving
only list items that are selected.
data
The data list property is redefined here, overriding its definition as an ObjectProperty in the
Adapter class. We bind to data so that any changes will trigger updates. See also how the
DictAdapter redefines data as a DictProperty.
data is a ListProperty and defaults to [].
on_selection_change(*args)
on_selection_change() is the default handler for the on_selection_change event. You can
bind to this event to get notified of selection changes.
Parameters
adapter: ListAdapter or subclassThe instance of the list adapter where
the selection changed. Use the adapters selection property to see
what has been selected.
propagate_selection_to_data
Normally, data items are not selected/deselected because the data items might not have
an is_selected boolean property only the item view for a given data item is selected/deselected as part of the maintained selection list. However, if the data items do
have an is_selected property, or if they mix in SelectableDataItem, the selection machinery can propagate selection to data items. This can be useful for storing selection state
in a local database or backend database for maintaining state in game play or other similar
scenarios. It is a convenience function.
To propagate selection or not?
Consider a shopping list application for shopping for fruits at the market. The app allows
for the selection of fruits to buy for each day of the week, presenting seven lists: one for each
day of the week. Each list is loaded with all the available fruits, but the selection for each is
a subset. There is only one set of fruit data shared between the lists, so it would not make
sense to propagate selection to the data because selection in any of the seven lists would
clash and mix with that of the others.
However, consider a game that uses the same fruits data for selecting fruits available for
fruit-tossing. A given round of play could have a full fruits list, with fruits available for
tossing shown selected. If the game is saved and rerun, the full fruits list, with selection
marked on each item, would be reloaded correctly if selection is always propagated to the
data. You could accomplish the same functionality by writing code to operate on list selection, but having selection stored in the data ListProperty might prove convenient in some
cases.
Note: This setting should be set to True if you wish to initialize the view with item views
already selected.
propagate_selection_to_data is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
select_list(view_list, extend=True)
The select call is made for the items in the provided view_list.
Arguments:
view_list: the list of item views to become the new selection, or to add to the
existing selection
extend: boolean for whether or not to extend the existing list
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selection
The selection list property is the container for selected items.
selection is a ListProperty and defaults to [].
selection_limit
When the selection_mode is multiple and the selection_limit is non-negative, this number will limit the number of selected items. It can be set to 1, which is equivalent to single
selection. If selection_limit is not set, the default value is -1, meaning that no limit will be
enforced.
selection_limit is a NumericProperty and defaults to -1 (no limit).
selection_mode
The selection_mode is a string and can be set to one of the following values:
none: use the list as a simple list (no select action). This option is here so that selection can be turned off, momentarily or permanently, for an existing list adapter. A
ListAdapter is not meant to be used as a primary no-selection list adapter. Use a
SimpleListAdapter for that.
single: multi-touch/click ignored. Single item selection only.
multiple: multi-touch / incremental addition to selection allowed; may be limited to
a count by setting the selection_limit.
selection_mode is an OptionProperty and defaults to single.
trim_left_of_sel(*args)
Cut list items with indices in sorted_keys that are less than the index of the first selected
item if there is a selection.
trim_right_of_sel(*args)
Cut list items with indices in sorted_keys that are greater than the index of the last selected
item if there is a selection.
trim_to_sel(*args)
Cut list items with indices in sorted_keys that are less than or greater than the index of
the last selected item if there is a selection. This preserves intervening list items within the
selected range.
22.7 SelectableDataItem
New in version 1.5.
22.7.1 Data Models

Kivy is open about the type of data used in applications built with the system. However, base classes
are sometimes needed to ensure data conforms to the requirements of some parts of the system.
A SelectableDataItem is a basic Python data model class that can be used as a mixin to build data
objects that are compatible with Kivys Adapter and selection system and which work with views such
as a ListView. A boolean is_selected property a requirement.
The default operation of the selection system is to not propogate selection in views such as ListView to
the underlying data: selection is by default a view-only operation. However, in some cases, it is useful
to propogate selection to the actual data items.
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You may, of course, build your own Python data model system as the backend for a Kivy application.
For instance, to use the Google App Engine Data Modeling system with Kivy, you could define your
class as follows:
from google.appengine.ext import db
class MySelectableDataItem(db.Model):
# ... other properties
is_selected = db.BooleanProperty()
It is easy to build such a class with plain Python.

class kivy.adapters.models.SelectableDataItem(is_selected=False)
A mixin class containing requirements for selection operations.
is_selected
A boolean property indicating whether the data item is selected or not.
22.8 SimpleListAdapter
New in version 1.5.
The SimpleListAdapter is used for basic lists. For example, it can be used for displaying a list of
read-only strings that do not require user interaction.
class kivy.adapters.simplelistadapter.SimpleListAdapter(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.adapters.adapter.Adapter
A SimpleListAdapter is an adapter around a Python list.
From Adapter, the ListAdapter gets cls, template, and args_converter properties.
data
The data list property contains a list of objects (which can be strings) that will be used directly if no args_converter function is provided. If there is an args_converter, the data objects
will be passed to it for instantiating the item view class instances.
data is a ListProperty and defaults to [].
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CHAPTER
TWENTYTHREE
CORE ABSTRACTION
This module defines the abstraction layers for our core providers and their implementations. For further
information, please refer to Architectural Overview and the Core Providers and Input Providers section of
the documentation.
In most cases, you shouldnt directly use a library thats already covered by the core abstraction. Always
try to use our providers first. In case we are missing a feature or method, please let us know by opening
a new Bug report instead of relying on your library.
Warning: These are not widgets! These are just abstractions of the respective functionality. For
example, you cannot add a core image to your window. You have to use the image widget class
instead. If youre really looking for widgets, please refer to kivy.uix instead.
23.1 Audio
Load an audio sound and play it with:
from kivy.core.audio import SoundLoader
sound = SoundLoader.load('mytest.wav')
if sound:
print("Sound found at %s" % sound.source)
print("Sound is %.3f seconds" % sound.length)
sound.play()
You should not use the Sound class directly. The class returned by SoundLoader.load will be the best
sound provider for that particular file type, so it might return different Sound classes depending the file
type.
Changed in version 1.8.0: There are now 2 distinct Gstreamer implementations: one using Gi/Gst
working for both Python 2+3 with Gstreamer 1.0, and one using PyGST working only for Python 2
+ Gstreamer 0.10. If you have issue with GStreamer, have a look at gstreamer-compatibility
Note: The core audio library does not support recording audio. If you require this functionality, please
refer to the audiostream extension.
class kivy.core.audio.Sound
Represents a sound to play. This class is abstract, and cannot be used directly.
Use SoundLoader to load a sound.
Events
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on_play[None] Fired when the sound is played.

on_stop[None] Fired when the sound is stopped.
filename
Deprecated since version 1.3.0: Use source instead.
get_pos()
Returns the current position of the audio file. Returns 0 if not playing.
length
Get length of the sound (in seconds).
load()
Load the file into memory.
loop
Set to True if the sound should automatically loop when it finishes.
loop is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
play()
Play the file.
seek(position)
Go to the <position> (in seconds).
source
Filename / source of your audio file.
source is a StringProperty that defaults to None and is read-only.
SoundLoader.load() for loading audio.
state
State of the sound, one of stop or play.
state is a read-only OptionProperty.
status
Deprecated since version 1.3.0: Use state instead.
stop()
Stop playback.
unload()
Unload the file from memory.
volume
Volume, in the range 0-1. 1 means full volume, 0 means mute.
volume is a NumericProperty and defaults to 1.
class kivy.core.audio.SoundLoader
Load a sound, using the best loader for the given file type.
static load(filename)
Load a sound, and return a Sound() instance.
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Use the
static register(classobj)
Register a new class to load the sound.
23.2 Camera
Core class for acquiring the camera and converting its input into a Texture.
Changed in version 1.8.0: There is now 2 distinct Gstreamer implementation: one using Gi/Gst working
for both Python 2+3 with Gstreamer 1.0, and one using PyGST working only for Python 2 + Gstreamer
0.10. If you have issue with GStreamer, have a look at gstreamer-compatibility
class kivy.core.camera.CameraBase(**kwargs)
Abstract Camera Widget class.
Concrete camera classes must implement initialization and frame capturing to a buffer that can
be uploaded to the gpu.
Parameters
index: intSource index of the camera.
size[tuple (int, int)] Size at which the image is drawn. If no size is specified, it
defaults to the resolution of the camera image.
resolution[tuple (int, int)] Resolution to try to request from the camera. Used in
the gstreamer pipeline by forcing the appsink caps to this resolution. If the
camera doesnt support the resolution, a negotiation error might be thrown.
Events
on_loadFired when the camera is loaded and the texture has become available.
on_textureFired each time the camera texture is updated.
index
Source index of the camera
init_camera()
Initialise the camera (internal)
resolution
Resolution of camera capture (width, height)
start()
Start the camera acquire
stop()
Release the camera
texture
Return the camera texture with the latest capture
23.3 Clipboard
Core class for accessing the Clipboard. If we are not able to access the system clipboard, a fake one will
be used.
Usage example:
>>> from kivy.core.clipboard import Clipboard
>>> Clipboard.get_types()
['TIMESTAMP', 'TARGETS', 'MULTIPLE', 'SAVE_TARGETS', 'UTF8_STRING',
'COMPOUND_TEXT', 'TEXT', 'STRING', 'text/plain;charset=utf-8',
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'text/plain']
>>> Clipboard.get('TEXT')
'Hello World'
>>> Clipboard.put('Great', 'UTF8_STRING')
>>> Clipboard.get_types()
['UTF8_STRING']
>>> Clipboard.get('UTF8_STRING')
'Great'
Note: The main implementation relies on Pygame and works well with text/strings. Anything else
might not work the same on all platforms.
23.4 OpenGL
Select and use the best OpenGL library available. Depending on your system, the core provider can
select an OpenGL ES or a classic desktop OpenGL library.
23.5 Image
Core classes for loading images and converting them to a Texture. The raw image data can be keep in
memory for further access.
23.5.1 In-memory image loading

New in version 1.9.0: Official support for in-memory loading. Not all the providers support it, but at
the moment SDL2, pygame, pil and imageio works.
To load an image with a filename, you usually do:
from kivy.core.image import Image as CoreImage
im = CoreImage("image.png")
Now you can load from memory block. Instead of passing the filename, youll need to pass the data as
a BytesIO object + an ext parameters. Both are mandatory:
import io
data = io.BytesIO(open("image.png", "rb").read())
im = CoreImage(data, ext="png")
By default, the image will not be cached, as our internal cache require a filename. If you want caching,
add a filename that represent your file (it will be used only for caching):
import io
data = io.BytesIO(open("image.png", "rb").read())
im = CoreImage(data, ext="png", filename="image.png")
class kivy.core.image.Image(arg, **kwargs)

Load an image and store the size and texture.
270
Changed in version 1.0.7: mipmap attribute has been added.

ture_rectangle have been deleted.
The texture_mipmap and tex-
Changed in version 1.0.8: An Image widget can change its texture. A new event on_texture has
been introduced. New methods for handling sequenced animation have been added.
Parameters
arg[can be a string (str), Texture or Image object.] A string is interpreted as a
path to the image to be loaded. You can also provide a texture object or
an already existing image object. In the latter case, a real copy of the given
image object will be returned.
keep_data[bool, defaults to False.] Keep the image data when the texture is created.
scale[float, defaults to 1.0] Scale of the image.
mipmap[bool, defaults to False] Create mipmap for the texture.
anim_delay: float, defaults to .25Delay in seconds between each animation
frame. Lower values means faster animation.
_
anim available
Return True if this Image instance has animation available.
anim_delay
Delay between each animation frame. A lower value means faster animation.
anim_index
Return the index number of the image currently in the texture.
anim_reset(allow_anim)
Reset an animation if available.
Parameters
allow_anim: boolIndicate whether the animation should restart playing or
not.
Usage:
# start/reset animation
image.anim_reset(True)
# or stop the animation
image.anim_reset(False)
You can change the animation speed whilst it is playing:

# Set to 20 FPS
image.anim_delay = 1 / 20.
filename
Get/set the filename of image
height
Image height
image
Get/set the data image object
static load(filename, **kwargs)
Load an image
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Parameters
filename[str] Filename of the image.
keep_data[bool, defaults to False] Keep the image data when the texture is
created.
load_memory(data, ext, filename=__inline__)
(internal) Method to load an image from raw data.
nocache
Indicate whether the texture will not be stored in the cache or not.
on_texture(*largs)
This event is fired when the texture reference or content haschanged. It is normally used
for sequenced images.
read_pixel(x, y)
For a given local x/y position, return the pixel color at that position.
Warning: This function can only be used with images loaded with the keep_data=True
keyword. For example:
m = Image.load('image.png', keep_data=True)
color = m.read_pixel(150, 150)
Parameters
x[int] Local x coordinate of the pixel in question.
y[int] Local y coordinate of the pixel in question.
remove_from_cache()
Remove the Image from cache. This facilitates re-loading of images from disk in case the
image content has changed.
Usage:
im = CoreImage('1.jpg')
# -- do something -im.remove_from_cache()
im = CoreImage('1.jpg')
# this time image will be re-loaded from disk
save(filename, flipped=False)
Save image texture to file.
The filename should have the .png extension because the texture data read from the GPU
is in the RGBA format. .jpg might work but has not been heavilly tested so some providers
might break when using it. Any other extensions are not officially supported.
The flipped parameter flips the saved image vertically, and defaults to True.
Example:
# Save an core image object
from kivy.core.image import Image
img = Image('hello.png')
img.save('hello2.png')
# Save a texture
272
texture = Texture.create(...)
img = Image(texture)
img.save('hello3.png')

Changed in version 1.8.0: Parameter flipped added to flip the image before saving, default to
False.
size
Image size (width, height)
texture
Texture of the image
width
Image width
class kivy.core.image.ImageData(width, height, fmt, data, source=None, flip_vertical=True,
source_image=None, rowlength=0)
Container for images and mipmap images. The container will always have at least the mipmap
level 0.
add_mipmap(level, width, height, data, rowlength)
Add a image for a specific mipmap level.
data
Image data. (If the image is mipmapped, it will use the level 0)
flip_vertical
Indicate if the texture will need to be vertically flipped
fmt
Decoded image format, one of a available texture format
get_mipmap(level)
Get the mipmap image at a specific level if it exists
height
Image height in pixels. (If the image is mipmapped, it will use the level 0)
iterate_mipmaps()
Iterate over all mipmap images available.
mipmaps
Data for each mipmap.
rowlength
Image rowlength. (If the image is mipmapped, it will use the level 0)
size
Image (width, height) in pixels. (If the image is mipmapped, it will use the level 0)
source
Image source, if available
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width
Image width in pixels. (If the image is mipmapped, it will use the level 0)
23.6 Spelling
Provides abstracted access to a range of spellchecking backends as well as word suggestions. The API
is inspired by enchant but other backends can be added that implement the same API.
Spelling currently requires python-enchant for all platforms except OSX, where a native implementation
exists.
>>> from kivy.core.spelling import Spelling
>>> s = Spelling()
>>> s.list_languages()
['en', 'en_CA', 'en_GB', 'en_US']
>>> s.select_language('en_US')
>>> s.suggest('helo')
[u'hole', u'help', u'helot', u'hello', u'halo', u'hero', u'hell', u'held',
u'helm', u'he-lo']
class kivy.core.spelling.SpellingBase(language=None)
Base class for all spelling providers. Supports some abstract methods for checking words and
getting suggestions.
check(word)
If word is a valid word in self._language (the currently active language), returns True. If the
word shouldnt be checked, returns None (e.g. for ). If it is not a valid word in self._language,
return False.
Parameters
word[str] The word to check.
list_languages()
Return a list of all supported languages. E.g. [en, en_GB, en_US, de, ...]
select_language(language)
From the set of registered languages, select the first language for language.
Parameters
language[str] Language identifier. Needs to be one of the options returned
by list_languages(). Sets the language used for spell checking and
word suggestions.
suggest(fragment)
For a given fragment (i.e. part of a word or a word by itself), provide corrections (fragment
may be misspelled) or completions as a list of strings.
Parameters
fragment[str] The word fragment to get suggestions/corrections for. E.g.
foo might become of, food or foot.
exception kivy.core.spelling.NoSuchLangError
Bases: Exception
Exception to be raised when a specific language could not be found.
exception kivy.core.spelling.NoLanguageSelectedError
Bases: Exception
Exception to be raised when a language-using method is called but no language was selected prior
to the call.
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23.7 Text
An abstraction of text creation. Depending of the selected backend, the accuracy of text rendering may
vary.
Changed in version 1.5.0: LabelBase.line_height added.
Changed in version 1.0.7: The LabelBase does not generate any texture if the text has a width <= 1.
This is the backend layer for getting text out of different text providers, you should only be using this
directly if your needs arent fulfilled by the Label.
Usage example:
from kivy.core.text import Label as CoreLabel
...
...
my_label = CoreLabel()
my_label.text = 'hello'
# the label is usually not drawn until needed, so force it to draw.
my_label.refresh()
# Now access the texture of the label and use it wherever and
# however you may please.
hello_texture = my_label.texture
class kivy.core.text.LabelBase(text=, font_size=12, font_name=Roboto, bold=False,

italic=False, halign=left, valign=bottom, shorten=False,
text_size=None, mipmap=False, color=None, line_height=1.0,
strip=False,
strip_reflow=True,
shorten_from=center,
split_str= , unicode_errors=replace, **kwargs)
Core text label. This is the abstract class used by different backends to render text.
Warning: The core text label cant be changed at runtime. You must recreate one.
Parameters
font_size: int, defaults to 12Font size of the text
font_name: str, defaults to DEFAULT_FONTFont name of the text
bold: bool, defaults to FalseActivate bold text style
italic: bool, defaults to FalseActivate italic text style
text_size: tuple, defaults to (None, None)Add constraint to render the text (inside a bounding box). If no size is given, the label size will be set to the text
size.
padding: float, defaults to NoneIf its a float, it will set padding_x and
padding_y
padding_x: float, defaults to 0.0Left/right padding
padding_y: float, defaults to 0.0Top/bottom padding
halign: str, defaults to leftHorizontal text alignment inside the bounding box
valign: str, defaults to bottomVertical text alignment inside the bounding box
shorten: bool, defaults to FalseIndicate whether the label should attempt to
shorten its textual contents as much as possible if a size is given. Setting
this to True without an appropriately set size will lead to unexpected results.
shorten_from: str, defaults to centerThe side from which we should shorten the
text from, can be left, right, or center. E.g. if left, the ellipsis will appear
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towards the left side and it will display as much text starting from the right
as possible.
split_str: string, defaults to (space)The string to use to split the words by
when shortening. If empty, we can split after every character filling up
the line as much as possible.
max_lines: int, defaults to 0 (unlimited)If set, this indicate how maximum line
are allowed to render the text. Works only if a limitation on text_size is set.
mipmap[bool, defaults to False] Create a mipmap for the texture
strip[bool, defaults to False] Whether each row of text has its leading and trailing
spaces stripped. If halign is justify it is implicitly True.
strip_reflow[bool, defaults to True] Whether text that has been reflowed into a
second line should be striped, even if strip is False. This is only in effect
when size_hint_x is not None, because otherwise lines are never split.
unicode_errors[str, defaults to replace] How to handle unicode decode errors.
Can be strict, replace or ignore.
Changed in version 1.9.0: strip, strip_reflow, shorten_from, split_str, and unicode_errors were added.
Changed in version 1.9.0: padding_x and padding_y has been fixed to work as expected. In the past,
the text was padded by the negative of their values.
Changed in version 1.8.0: max_lines parameters has been added.
Changed in version 1.0.8: size have been deprecated and replaced with text_size.
Changed in version 1.0.7: The valign is now respected. This wasnt the case previously so you
might have an issue in your application if you have not considered this.
content_height
Return the content height; i.e. the height of the text without any padding.
content_size
Return the content size (width, height)
content_width
Return the content width; i.e. the width of the text without any padding.
fontid
Return a unique id for all font parameters
get_cached_extents()
Returns a cached version of the get_extents() function.
>>> func = self._get_cached_extents()
>>> func
<built-in method size of pygame.font.Font object at 0x01E45650>
>>> func('a line')
(36, 18)
Warning: This method returns a size measuring function that is valid for the font settings used at the time get_cached_extents() was called. Any change in the font settings will render the returned function incorrect. You should only use this if you know
what youre doing.
get_extents(text)
Return a tuple (width, height) indicating the size of the specified text
static get_system_fonts_dir()
Return the Directory used by the system for fonts.
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label
Get/Set the text
refresh()
Force re-rendering of the text
static register(name, fn_regular, fn_italic=None, fn_bold=None, fn_bolditalic=None)
Register an alias for a Font.
If youre using a ttf directly, you might not be able to use the bold/italic properties of the ttf
version. If the font is delivered in multiple files (one regular, one italic and one bold), then
you need to register these files and use the alias instead.
All
the
fn_regular/fn_italic/fn_bold
parameters
are
resolved
with
kivy.resources.resource_find().
If fn_italic/fn_bold are None, fn_regular
will be used instead.
render(real=False)
Return a tuple (width, height) to create the image with the user constraints. (width, height)
includes the padding.
shorten(text, margin=2)
Shortens the text to fit into a single line by the width specified by text_size [0]. If
text_size [0] is None, it returns text text unchanged.
split_str and shorten_from determines how the text is shortened.
Paramstext str, the text to be shortened. margin int, the amount of space to leave
between the margins and the text. This is in addition to padding_x.
Retrunsthe text shortened to fit into a single line.
text
Get/Set the text
text_size
Get/set the (width, height) of the contrained rendering box
usersize
(deprecated) Use text_size instead.
23.7.1 Text Markup

We provide a simple text-markup for inline text styling. The syntax look the same as the BBCode.
A tag is defined as [tag], and should have a corresponding [/tag] closing tag. For example:
[b]Hello [color=ff0000]world[/color][/b]
The following tags are availables:

[b][/b] Activate bold text
[i][/i] Activate italic text
[font=<str>][/font] Change the font
[size=<integer>][/size] Change the font size
[color=#<color>][/color] Change the text color
[ref=<str>][/ref] Add an interactive zone. The reference + all the word box inside the reference
will be available in MarkupLabel.refs
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[anchor=<str>] Put an anchor in the text. You can get the position of your anchor within the text
with MarkupLabel.anchors
[sub][/sub] Display the text at a subscript position relative to the text before it.
[sup][/sup] Display the text at a superscript position relative to the text before it.
If you need to escape the markup from the current text, use kivy.utils.escape_markup().
class kivy.core.text.markup.MarkupLabel(*largs, **kwargs)
Bases: kivy.core.text.LabelBase
Markup text label.
See module documentation for more informations.
anchors
Get the position of all the [anchor=...]:
{ 'anchorA': (x, y), 'anchorB': (x, y), ... }
markup
Return the text with all the markup splitted:
>>> MarkupLabel('[b]Hello world[/b]').markup
>>> ('[b]', 'Hello world', '[/b]')
refs
Get the bounding box of all the [ref=...]:
{ 'refA': ((x1, y1, x2, y2), (x1, y1, x2, y2)), ... }
shorten_post(lines, w, h, margin=2)
Shortens the text to a single line according to the label options.
This function operates on a text that has already been laid out because for markup, parts of
text can have different size and options.
If text_size [0] is None, the lines are returned unchanged. Otherwise, the lines are converted to a single line fitting within the constrained width, text_size [0].
Paramslines: list of LayoutLine instances describing the text. w: int, the width of
the text in lines, including padding. h: int, the height of the text in lines,
including padding. margin int, the additional space left on the sides. This
is in addition to padding_x.
Returns3-tuple of (xw, h, lines), where w, and h is similar to the input and contains the resulting width / height of the text, including padding. lines, is a
list containing a single LayoutLine, which contains the words for the line.
23.7.2 Text layout

An internal module for laying out text according to options and constraints. This is not part of the API
and may change at any time.
kivy.core.text.text_layout.layout_text()
Lays out text into a series of LayoutWord and LayoutLine instances according to the options
specified.
The function is designed to be called many times, each time new text is appended to the last line
(or first line if appending upwards), unless a newline is present in the text. Each text appended is
described by its own options which can change between successive calls. If the text is constrained,
we stop as soon as the constraint is reached.
278
Parameters
text: string or bytesthe text to be broken down into lines. If lines is not empty,
the text is added to the last line (or first line if append_down is False) until a
newline is reached which creates a new line in lines. See LayoutLine.
lines: lista list of LayoutLine instances, each describing a line of the text. Calls
to layout_text() append or create new LayoutLine instances in lines.
size: 2-tuple of intsthe size of the laid out text so far. Upon first call it should
probably be (0, 0), afterwards it should be the (w, h) returned by this function in a previous call. When size reaches the constraining size, text_size,
we stop adding lines and return True for the clipped parameter. size includes the x and y padding.
text_size: 2-tuple of ints or None.the size constraint on the laid out text. If either
element is None, the text is not constrained in that dimension. For example,
(None, 200) will constrain the height, including padding to 200, while the
width is unconstrained. The first line, and the first character of a line is
always returned, even if it exceeds the constraint. The value be changed
between different calls.
options: dictthe label options of this text. The options are saved with each word
allowing different words to have different options from successive calls.
Note, options must include a space_width key with a value indicating the
width of a space for that set of options.
get_extents: callablea function called with a string, which returns a tuple containing the width, height of the string.
append_down: boolWhether successive calls to the function appends lines before or after the existing lines. If True, they are appended to the last line
and below it. If False, its appended at the first line and above. For example, if False, everything after the last newline in text is appended to the first
line in lines. Everything before the last newline is inserted at the start of
lines in same order as text; that is we do not invert the line order.
This allows laying out from top to bottom until the constrained is reached,
or from bottom to top until the constrained is reached.
complete: boolwhether this text complete lines. It use is that normally is strip in
options is True, all leading and trailing spaces are removed from each line
except from the last line (or first line if append_down is False) which only
removes leading spaces. Thats because further text can still be appended
to the last line so we cannot strip them. If complete is True, it indicates no
further text is coming and all lines will be stripped.
The function can also be called with text set to the empty string and complete
set to True in order for the last (first) line to be stripped.
Returns3-tuple, (w, h, clipped). w and h is the width and height of the text in lines
so far and includes padding. This can be larger than text_size, e.g. if not even a
single fitted, the first line would still be returned. clipped is True if not all the text
has been added to lines because w, h reached the constrained size.
Following is a simple example with no padding and no stripping:
>>> from kivy.core.text import Label
>>> from kivy.core.text.text_layout import layout_text
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
...
...
l = Label()
lines = []
# layout text with width constraint by 50, but no height constraint
w, h, clipped = layout_text('heres some text\nah, another line',
lines, (0, 0), (50, None), l.options, l.get_cached_extents(), True,
False)
279
>>> w, h, clipped
(46, 90, False)
# now add text from bottom up, and constrain witdh only be 100
>>> w, h, clipped = layout_text('\nyay, more text\n', lines, (w, h),
... (100, None), l.options, l.get_cached_extents(), False, True)
>>> w, h, clipped
(77, 120, 0)
>>> for line in lines:
...
print('line w: {}, line h: {}'.format(line.w, line.h))
...
for word in line.words:
...
print('w: {}, h: {}, text: {}'.format(word.lw, word.lh,
...
[word.text]))
line w: 0, line h: 15
w: 77, h: 15, text: ['yay, more text']
w: 31, h: 15, text: ['heres']
w: 34, h: 15, text: [' some']
w: 24, h: 15, text: [' text']
w: 17, h: 15, text: ['ah,']
w: 46, h: 15, text: [' another']
w: 23, h: 15, text: [' line']
class kivy.core.text.text_layout.LayoutWord
Formally describes a word contained in a line. The name word simply means a chunk of text and
can be used to describe any text.
A word has some width, height and is rendered according to options saved in options. See
LayoutLine for its usage.
Parameters
options: dictthe label options dictionary for this word.
lw: intthe width of the text in pixels.
lh: intthe height of the text in pixels.
text: stringthe text of the word.
class kivy.core.text.text_layout.LayoutLine
Formally describes a line of text. A line of text is composed of many LayoutWord instances, each
with its own text, size and options.
A LayoutLine instance does not always imply that the words contained in the line ended with
a newline. That is only the case if is_last_line is True. For example a single real line of text
can be split across multiple LayoutLine instances if the whole line doesnt fit in the constrained
width.
Parameters
x: intthe location in a texture from where the left side of this line is began drawn.
y: intthe location in a texture from where the bottom of this line is drawn.
w: intthe width of the line. This is the sum of the individual widths of its
LayoutWord instances. Does not include any padding.
h: intthe height of the line. This is the maximum of the individual heights of its
LayoutWord instances multiplied by the line_height of these instance. So
this is larger then the word height.
280
is_last_line: boolwhether this line was the last line in a paragraph. When True,
it implies that the line was followed by a newline. Newlines should not be
included in the text of words, but is implicit by setting this to True.
line_wrap: boolwhether this line is continued from a previous line which
didnt fit into a constrained width and was therefore split across multiple LayoutLine instances. line_wrap can be True or False independently
of is_last_line.
words: python lista list that contains only LayoutWord instances describing the
text of the line.
23.8 Video
Core class for reading video files and managing the kivy.graphics.texture.Texture video.
Changed in version 1.8.0: There is now 2 distinct Gstreamer implementation: one using Gi/Gst working
for both Python 2+3 with Gstreamer 1.0, and one using PyGST working only for Python 2 + Gstreamer
0.10. If you have issue with GStreamer, have a look at gstreamer-compatibility
Note: Recording is not supported.
class kivy.core.video.VideoBase(**kwargs)
VideoBase, a class used to implement a video reader.
Parameters
filename[str] Filename of the video. Can be a file or an URI.
eos[str, defaults to pause] Action to take when EOS is hit. Can be one of pause,
stop or loop.
Changed in version unknown: added pause
async[bool, defaults to True] Load the video asynchronously (may be not supported by all providers).
autoplay[bool, defaults to False] Auto play the video on init.
Events
on_eosFired when EOS is hit.
on_loadFired when the video is loaded and the texture is available.
on_frameFired when a new frame is written to the texture.
duration
Get the video duration (in seconds)
filename
Get/set the filename/uri of the current video
load()
Load the video from the current filename
pause()
Pause the video
play()
Play the video
position
Get/set the position in the video (in seconds)
seek(percent)
Move on percent position
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state
Get the video playing status
stop()
Stop the video playing
texture
Get the video texture
unload()
Unload the actual video
volume
Get/set the volume in the video (1.0 = 100%)
23.9 Window
Core class for creating the default Kivy window. Kivy supports only one window per application:
please dont try to create more than one.
class kivy.core.window.Keyboard(**kwargs)
Keyboard interface that is returned by WindowBase.request_keyboard(). When you request
a keyboard, youll get an instance of this class. Whatever the keyboard input is (system or virtual
keyboard), youll receive events through this instance.
Events
on_key_down: keycode, text, modifiersFired when a new key is pressed down
on_key_up: keycodeFired when a key is released (up)
Here is an example of how to request a Keyboard in accordance with the current configuration:
import kivy
class MyKeyboardListener(Widget):
super(MyKeyboardListener, self).__init__(**kwargs)
self._keyboard = Window.request_keyboard(
self._keyboard_closed, self, 'text')
if self._keyboard.widget:
# If it exists, this widget is a VKeyboard object which you can use
# to change the keyboard layout.
pass
self._keyboard.bind(on_key_down=self._on_keyboard_down)
def _keyboard_closed(self):
print('My keyboard have been closed!')
self._keyboard.unbind(on_key_down=self._on_keyboard_down)
self._keyboard = None
def _on_keyboard_down(self, keyboard, keycode, text, modifiers):
print('The key', keycode, 'have been pressed')
print(' - text is %r' % text)
print(' - modifiers are %r' % modifiers)
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# Keycode is composed of an integer + a string

# If we hit escape, release the keyboard
if keycode[1] == 'escape':
keyboard.release()
# Return True to accept the key. Otherwise, it will be used by
# the system.
return True
if __name__ == '__main__':
from kivy.base import runTouchApp
runTouchApp(MyKeyboardListener())
callback = None
Callback that will be called when the keyboard is released
keycode_to_string(value)
Convert a keycode number to a string according to the Keyboard.keycodes. If the value
is not found in the keycodes, it will return .
release()
Call this method to release the current keyboard. This will ensure that the keyboard is no
longer attached to your callback.
string_to_keycode(value)
Convert a string to a keycode number according to the Keyboard.keycodes. If the value
is not found in the keycodes, it will return -1.
target = None
Target that have requested the keyboard
widget = None
VKeyboard widget, if allowed by the configuration
window = None
Window which the keyboard is attached too
class kivy.core.window.WindowBase(**kwargs)
WindowBase is an abstract window widget for any window implementation.
Parameters
borderless: str, one of (0, 1)Set the window border state. Check the config
documentation for a more detailed explanation on the values.
fullscreen: str, one of (0, 1, auto, fake)Make the window fullscreen. Check
the config documentation for a more detailed explanation on the values.
width: intWidth of the window.
height: intHeight of the window.
minimum_width: intMinimum width of the window (only works for sdl2 window provider).
minimum_height: intMinimum height of the window (only works for sdl2 window provider).
Events
on_motion: etype, motioneventFired when a new MotionEvent is dispatched
on_touch_down:Fired when a new touch event is initiated.
on_touch_move:Fired when an existing touch event changes location.
on_touch_up:Fired when an existing touch event is terminated.
on_draw:Fired when the Window is being drawn.
on_flip:Fired when the Window GL surface is being flipped.
on_rotate: rotationFired when the Window is being rotated.
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on_close:Fired when the Window is closed.

on_request_close:Fired when the event loop wants to close the window, or if
the escape key is pressed and exit_on_escape is True. If a function bound
to this event returns True, the window will not be closed. If the the event
is triggered because of the keyboard escape key, the keyword argument
source is dispatched along with a value of keyboard to the bound functions.
on_keyboard: key, scancode, codepoint, modifierFired when the keyboard is
used for input.
Changed in version 1.3.0: The unicode parameter has been deprecated in
favor of codepoint, and will be removed completely in future versions.
on_key_down: key, scancode, codepointFired when a key pressed.
Changed in version 1.3.0: The unicode parameter has been deprecated in
favor of codepoint, and will be removed completely in future versions.
on_key_up: key, scancode, codepointFired when a key is released.
Changed in version 1.3.0: The unicode parameter has be deprecated in favor
of codepoint, and will be removed completely in future versions.
on_dropfile: strFired when a file is dropped on the application.
on_memorywarning:Fired when the platform have memory issue (iOS / Android mostly) You can listen to this one, and clean whatever you can.
add_widget(widget, canvas=None)
Add a widget to a window
borderless
When set to True, this property removes the window border/decoration.
borderless is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
center
Center of the rotated window.
center is a AliasProperty.
children
List of the children of this window.
children is a ListProperty instance and defaults to an empty list.
Use add_widget() and remove_widget() to manipulate the list of children. Dont manipulate the list directly unless you know what you are doing.
clear()
Clear the window with the background color
clearcolor
Color used to clear the window.
# red background color
Window.clearcolor = (1, 0, 0, 1)
# don't clear background at all
Window.clearcolor = None
Changed in version 1.7.2: The clearcolor default value is now: (0, 0, 0, 1).
284
close()
Close the window
create_window(*largs)
Will create the main window and configure it.
Warning: This method is called automatically at runtime. If you call it, it will recreate a
RenderContext and Canvas. This means youll have a new graphics tree, and the old one
will be unusable.
This method exist to permit the creation of a new OpenGL context AFTER closing the
first one. (Like using runTouchApp() and stopTouchApp()).
This method has only been tested in a unittest environment and is not suitable for Applications.
Again, dont use this method unless you know exactly what you are doing!
dpi()
Return the DPI of the screen. If the implementation doesnt support any DPI lookup, it will
just return 96.
Warning: This value is not cross-platform. Use kivy.base.EventLoop.dpi instead.
flip()
Flip between buffers
fullscreen
This property sets the fullscreen mode of the window. Available options are: True, False,
auto and fake. Check the config documentation for more detailed explanations on these
values.
fullscreen is an OptionProperty and defaults to False.
Note: The fake option has been deprecated, use the borderless property instead.
height
Rotated window height.
height is a read-only AliasProperty.
hide()
Hides the window. This method should be used on desktop platforms only.
Note: This feature requires a SDL2 window provider and is currently only supported on
desktop platforms.
Warning: This code is still experimental, and its API may be subject to change in a future
version.
keyboard_height
Rerturns the height of the softkeyboard/IME on mobile platforms. Will return 0 if not on
mobile platform or if IME is not active.
keyboard_height is a read-only AliasProperty and defaults to 0.
285
maximize()
Maximizes the window. This method should be used on desktop platforms only.
desktop platforms.
version.
minimize()
Minimizes the window. This method should be used on desktop platforms only.
desktop platforms.
version.
minimum_height
The minimum height to restrict the window to.
minimum_height is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
minimum_width
The minimum width to restrict the window to.
minimum_width is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
modifiers
List of keyboard modifiers currently active.
mouse_pos
2d position of the mouse within the window.
on_close(*largs)
Event called when the window is closed
on_dropfile(filename)
Event called when a file is dropped on the application.
Warning: This event currently works with sdl2 window provider, on pygame window
provider and OS X with a patched version of pygame. This event is left in place for
further evolution (ios, android etc.)
on_flip()
Flip between buffers (event)
on_joy_axis(stickid, axisid, value)
Event called when a joystick has a stick or other axis moved
286

on_joy_ball(stickid, ballid, value)
Event called when a joystick has a ball moved
on_joy_button_down(stickid, buttonid)
Event called when a joystick has a button pressed
on_joy_button_up(stickid, buttonid)
Event called when a joystick has a button released
on_joy_hat(stickid, hatid, value)
Event called when a joystick has a hat/dpad moved
on_key_down(key, scancode=None, codepoint=None, modifier=None, **kwargs)
Event called when a key is down (same arguments as on_keyboard)
on_key_up(key, scancode=None, codepoint=None, modifier=None, **kwargs)
Event called when a key is released (same arguments as on_keyboard)
on_keyboard(key, scancode=None, codepoint=None, modifier=None, **kwargs)
Event called when keyboard is used.
Warning: Some providers may omit scancode, codepoint and/or modifier.
on_memorywarning()
Event called when the platform have memory issue. Your goal is to clear the cache in your
app as much as you can, release unused widget, etc.
Currently, this event is fired only from SDL2 provider, for iOS and Android.
on_motion(etype, me)
Event called when a Motion Event is received.
Parameters
etype: strOne of begin, update, end
me: MotionEventThe Motion Event currently dispatched.
on_mouse_down(x, y, button, modifiers)
Event called when the mouse is used (pressed/released)
on_mouse_move(x, y, modifiers)
Event called when the mouse is moved with buttons pressed
on_mouse_up(x, y, button, modifiers)
Event called when the mouse is moved with buttons pressed
on_request_close(*largs, **kwargs)
Event called before we close the window. If a bound function returns True, the window will
not be closed. If the the event is triggered because of the keyboard escape key, the keyword
argument source is dispatched along with a value of keyboard to the bound functions.
Warning: When the bound function returns True the window will not be closed, so use
with care because the user would not be able to close the program, even if the red X is
clicked.
287
on_resize(width, height)
Event called when the window is resized.
on_rotate(rotation)
Event called when the screen has been rotated.
on_textinput(text)
Event called whem text: i.e. alpha numeric non control keys or set of keys is entered. As it is
not gaurenteed whether we get one character or multiple ones, this event supports handling
multiple characters.
on_touch_down(touch)
Event called when a touch down event is initiated.
Changed in version 1.9.0: The touch pos is now transformed to window coordinates before
this method is called. Before, the touch pos coordinate would be (0, 0) when this method was
called.
on_touch_move(touch)
Event called when a touch event moves (changes location).
called.
on_touch_up(touch)
Event called when a touch event is released (terminated).
called.
parent
Parent of this window.
parent is a ObjectProperty instance and defaults to None. When created, the parent is
set to the window itself. You must take care of it if you are doing a recursive check.
raise_window()
Raise the window. This method should be used on desktop platforms only.
desktop platforms.
version.
release_all_keyboards()
This will ensure that no virtual keyboard / system keyboard is requested. All instances will
be closed.
release_keyboard(target=None)
Internal method for the widget to release the real-keyboard. Check request_keyboard()
to understand how it works.
288
remove_widget(widget)
Remove a widget from a window
request_keyboard(callback, target, input_type=text)
Internal widget method to request the keyboard. This method is rarely required by the enduser as it is handled automatically by the TextInput. We expose it in case you want to
handle the keyboard manually for unique input scenarios.
A widget can request the keyboard, indicating a callback to call when the keyboard is released (or taken by another widget).
Parameters
callback: funcCallback that will be called when the keyboard is closed.
This can be because somebody else requested the keyboard or the
user closed it.
target: WidgetAttach the keyboard to the specified target. This should be
the widget that requested the keyboard. Ensure you have a different
target attached to each keyboard if youre working in a multi user
mode.
input_type: stringChoose the type of soft keyboard to request. Can be one
of text, number, url, mail, datetime, tel, address.
Note: input_type is currently only honored on mobile devices.
ReturnAn instance of Keyboard containing the callback, target, and if the configuration allows it, a VKeyboard instance attached as a .widget property.
Note: The behavior of this function is heavily influenced by the current keyboard_mode.
Please see the Configs configuration tokens section for more information.
restore()
Restores the size and position of a maximized or minimized window. This method should
be used on desktop platforms only.
desktop platforms.
version.
rotation
Get/set the window content rotation. Can be one of 0, 90, 180, 270 degrees.
screenshot(name=screenshot{:04d}.png)
Save the actual displayed image in a file
set_icon(filename)
Set the icon of the window.
set_title(title)
Set the window title.
289

set_vkeyboard_class(cls)
Set the VKeyboard class to use.
kivy.uix.vkeyboard.VKeyboard.
If
set
to
None,
it
will
use
the
show()
Shows the window. This method should be used on desktop platforms only.
desktop platforms.
version.
size
Get the rotated size of the window. If rotation is set, then the size will change to reflect
the rotation.
softinput_mode
This specifies the behavior of window contents on display of the soft keyboard on mobile
platforms. It can be one of , pan, scale, resize or below_target. Their effects are listed
below.
Value
Effect
The main window is left as is, allowing you to use the keyboard_height
to manage the window contents manually.
pan
The main window pans, moving the bottom part of the window to be always
on top of the keyboard.
resize
The window is resized and the contents scaled to fit the remaining space.
beThe window pans so that the current target TextInput widget requesting the
low_target keyboard is presented just above the soft keyboard.
softinput_mode is an OptionProperty and defaults to None.
Changed in version 1.9.1: The below_target option was added.
system_size
Real size of the window ignoring rotation.
toggle_fullscreen()
Toggle between fullscreen and windowed mode.
Deprecated since version 1.9.0: Use fullscreen instead.
width
Rotated window width.
width is a read-only AliasProperty.
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CHAPTER
TWENTYFOUR
KIVY MODULE FOR BINARY

DEPENDENCIES.
Binary dependencies such as gstreamer is installed as a namespace module of kivy.deps. These modules
are responsible for making sure that the binaries are available to kivy.
291
292
CHAPTER
TWENTYFIVE
EFFECTS
Everything starts with the KineticEffect, the base class for computing velocity out of a movement.
This base class is used to implement the ScrollEffect, a base class used for our ScrollView widget
effect. We have multiple implementations:
ScrollEffect: base class used for implementing an effect. It only calculates the scrolling and
the overscroll.
DampedScrollEffect: uses the overscroll information to allow the user to drag more than
expected. Once the user stops the drag, the position is returned to one of the bounds.
OpacityScrollEffect: uses the overscroll information to reduce the opacity of the scrollview
widget. When the user stops the drag, the opacity is set back to 1.
25.1 Damped scroll effect

This damped scroll effect will use the overscroll to calculate the scroll value, and slows going back
to the upper or lower limit.
class kivy.effects.dampedscroll.DampedScrollEffect(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.effects.scroll.ScrollEffect
DampedScrollEffect class. See the module documentation for more information.
edge_damping
Edge damping.
edge_damping is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.25
min_overscroll
An overscroll less than this amount will be normalized to 0.
min_overscroll is a NumericProperty and defaults to .5.
round_value
If True, when the motion stops, value is rounded to the nearest integer.
round_value is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True.
293
spring_constant
Spring constant.
spring_constant is a NumericProperty and defaults to 2.0
25.2 Kinetic effect

The KineticEffect is the base class that is used to compute the velocity out of a movement. When the
movement is finished, the effect will compute the position of the movement according to the velocity,
and reduce the velocity with a friction. The movement stop until the velocity is 0.
Conceptually, the usage could be:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
effect = KineticEffect()
effect.start(10)
effect.update(15)
effect.update(30)
effect.stop(48)
Over the time, you will start a movement of a value, update it, and stop the movement. At this time,
youll get the movement value into KineticEffect.value. On the example ive typed manually, the
computed velocity will be:
>>> effect.velocity
3.1619100231163046
After multiple clock interaction, the velocity will decrease according to KineticEffect.friction.
The computed value will be stored in KineticEffect.value. The output of this value could be:
46.30038145219605
54.58302451968686
61.9229016256196
# ...
class kivy.effects.kinetic.KineticEffect(**kwargs)
Kinetic effect class. See module documentation for more information.
cancel()
Cancel a movement. This can be used in case stop() cannot be called. It will reset
is_manual to False, and compute the movement if the velocity is > 0.
friction
Friction to apply on the velocity
velocity is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.05.
is_manual
Indicate if a movement is in progress (True) or not (False).
velocity is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
max_history
Save up to max_history movement value into the history. This is used for correctly calculating
the velocity according to the movement.
max_history is a NumericProperty and defaults to 5.
294
min_distance
The minimal distance for a movement to have nonzero velocity.
min_distance is NumericProperty and defaults to 0.1.
min_velocity
Velocity below this quantity is normalized to 0. In other words, any motion whose velocity
falls below this number is stopped.
min_velocity is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.5.
start(val, t=None)
Start the movement.
Parameters
val: float or intValue of the movement
t: float, defaults to NoneTime when the movement happen. If no time is
set, it will use time.time()
stop(val, t=None)
Stop the movement.
See start() for the arguments.
update(val, t=None)
Update the movement.
See start() for the arguments.
update_velocity(dt)
(internal) Update the velocity according to the frametime and friction.
value
Value (during the movement and computed) of the effect.
velocity is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
velocity
Velocity of the movement.
velocity is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
25.3 Opacity scroll effect

Based on the DampedScrollEffect, this one will also decrease the opacity of the target widget during
the overscroll.
class kivy.effects.opacityscroll.OpacityScrollEffect(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.effects.dampedscroll.DampedScrollEffect
OpacityScrollEffect class. Uses the overscroll information to reduce the opacity of the scrollview
widget. When the user stops the drag, the opacity is set back to 1.
25.4 Scroll effect

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Based on the kinetic effect, the ScrollEffect will limit the movement to bounds determined by
its min and max properties. If the movement exceeds these bounds, it will calculate the amount of
overscroll and try to return to the value of one of the bounds.
This is very useful for implementing a scrolling list. We actually use this class as a base effect for our
ScrollView widget.
class kivy.effects.scroll.ScrollEffect(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.effects.kinetic.KineticEffect
ScrollEffect class. See the module documentation for more informations.
displacement
Cumulative distance of the movement during the interaction. This is used to determine if
the movemenent is a drag (more than drag_threshold) or not.
displacement is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
drag_threshold
Minimum distance to travel before the movement is considered as a drag.
velocity is a NumericProperty and defaults to 20sp.
max
Maximum boundary to use for scrolling.
max is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
min
Minimum boundary to use for scrolling.
min is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
overscroll
Computed value when the user over-scrolls i.e. goes out of the bounds.
overscroll is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
reset(pos)
(internal) Reset the value and the velocity to the pos. Mostly used when the bounds are
checked.
scroll
Computed
value
for
scrolling.
This
value
is
different
from
kivy.effects.kinetic.KineticEffect.value in that it will return to one of
the min/max bounds.
scroll is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
target_widget
Widget to attach to this effect. Even if this class doesnt make changes to the target_widget
by default, subclasses can use it to change the graphics or apply custom transformations.
target_widget is a ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
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CHAPTER
TWENTYSIX
EXTENSION SUPPORT
Sometimes your application requires functionality that is beyond the scope of what Kivy can deliver.
In those cases it is necessary to resort to external software libraries. Given the richness of the Python
ecosystem, there is already a great number of software libraries that you can simply import and use
right away.
For some third-party libraries, its not as easy as that though. Some libraries require special wrappers to
be written for them in order to be compatible with Kivy. Some libraries might even need to be patched
so that they can be used (e.g. if they open their own OpenGL context to draw in and dont support
proper offscreen rendering). On those occasions it is often possible to patch the library in question and
provide a Python wrapper around it that is compatible with Kivy. Sticking with this example, you cant
just use the wrapper with a normal installation of the library because the patch would be missing.
That is where Kivy extensions come in handy. A Kivy extension represents a single third-party library
that is provided in such a way that it can simply be downloaded as a single file, put in a special directory
and then offers the functionality of the wrapped library to Kivy applications. These extensions will not
pollute the global Python environment (as they might be unusable on their own after potential patches
have been applied) because they reside in special directories for Kivy that are not accessed by Python
by default.
26.1 Naming and versioning

Kivy extensions are provided as *.kex files. They are really just zip files, but you must not unzip
them yourself. Kivy will do that for you as soon as its appropriate to do so. They follow the following
naming convention:
<NAME>-<MAJOR>.<MINOR>[.*].kex
Warning: Again, do not try to unzip *.kex files on your own. While unzipping will work, Kivy
will not be able to load the extension and will simply ignore it.
With Kivys extension system, your application can use specially packaged third-party libraries in a
backwards compatible way (by specifying the version that you require) even if the actual third-party
library does not guarantee backwards-compatibility. There will be no breakage if newer versions are
installed (as a properly suited old version will still be used). For more information on such behaviour,
please refer to the documentation of the load() function.
If you want to provide an extension on your own, there is a helper script that sets up the initial extension
folder structure that Kivy requires for extensions. It can be found at kivy/tools/extensions/makekivyext.py
kivy.ext.load(extname, version)
Use this function to tell Kivy to load a specific version of the given Extension. This is different
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from kivys require() in that it will always use the exact same major version you specify even
if a newer (major) version is available. This is because we cannot make the same backwardscompatibility guarantee that we make with Kivy for third-party extensions. You will still get fixes
and optimizations that dont break backwards compatibility via minor version upgrades of the
extension.
The function will then return the loaded module as a Python module object and you can bind it
to a name of your choosing. This prevents clashes with modules with the same name that might
be installed in a system directory.
Usage example for this function:
from kivy.ext import load
myextension = load('myextension', (2, 1))
# You can now use myextension as if you had done `ìmport myextension``,
# but with the added benefit of using the proper version.
Parameters
extname: strThe exact name of the extension that you want to use.
version: two-tuple of intsA tuple of the form (major, minor), where major and
minor are ints that specify the major and minor version number for the extension, e.g. (1, 2) would be akin to 1.2. It is important to note that between
minor versions, backwards compatibility is guaranteed, but between major
versions it is not. I.e. if you change your extension in a backwards incompatible way, increase the major version number (and reset the minor to 0).
If you just do a bug fix or add an optional, backwards-compatible feature,
you can just increase the minor version number. If the application then requires version (1, 2), every version starting with that version number will
be ok and by default the latest version will be choosen. The two ints major
and minor can both be in range(0, infinity).
kivy.ext.unzip_extensions()
Unzips Kivy extensions. Internal usage only: dont use it yourself unless you know what youre
doing and really want to trigger installation of new extensions.
For your file to be recognized as an extension, it has to fulfil a few requirements:
We require that the file has the *.kex extension to make the distinction between a Kivy
extension and an ordinary zip file clear.
We require that the *.kex extension files be put into any of the directories listed in EXTENSION_PATHS which is normally ~/.kivy/extensions and extensions/ inside kivys base directory. We do not look for extensions on sys.path or elsewhere in the system.
We require that the Kivy extension is zipped in a way so that Pythons zipfile module can
extract it properly.
We require that the extension internally obeys the common Kivy extension format, which
looks like this:
|-- myextension/
|-- __init__.py
|-- data/
The __init__.py file is the main entrypoint to the extension. All names that should be usable when the extension is loaded need to be exported (i.e. made available) in the namespace
of that file.
How the extension accesses the code of the library that it wraps (be it pure Python or binary
code) is up to the extension. For example there could be another Python module adjacent to
the __init__.py file from which the __init__.py file imports the usable names that it
wants to expose.
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We require that the version of the extension be specified in the setup.py file that is created by the Kivy extension wizard and that the version specification format as explained in
load() be used.
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300
CHAPTER
TWENTYSEVEN
GARDEN
Changed in version 1.8.0.
Garden is a project to centralize addons for Kivy maintained by users. You can find more information
at Kivy Garden. All the garden packages are centralized on the kivy-garden Github repository.
Garden is now distributed as a separate Python module, kivy-garden. You can install it with pip:
pip install kivy-garden
The garden module does not initially include any packages. You can download them with the garden
tool installed by the pip package:
# Installing a garden package
garden install graph
# Upgrade a garden package
garden install --upgrade graph
# Uninstall a garden package
garden uninstall graph
# List all the garden packages installed
garden list
# Search new packages
garden search
# Search all the packages that contain "graph"
garden search graph
# Show the help
garden --help
All the garden packages are installed by default in ~/.kivy/garden.

Note: In previous versions of Kivy, garden was a tool at kivy/tools/garden. This no longer exists, but
the kivy-garden module provides exactly the same functionality.
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27.1 Packaging
If you want to include garden packages in your application, you can add app to the install command.
This will create a libs/garden directory in your current directory which will be used by kivy.garden.
For example:
cd myapp
garden install --app graph
kivy.garden.garden_system_dir = garden
system path where garden modules can be installed
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CHAPTER
TWENTYEIGHT
GRAPHICS
This package assembles many low level functions used for drawing. The whole graphics package is
compatible with OpenGL ES 2.0 and has many rendering optimizations.
28.1 The basics

For drawing on a screen, you will need :
1. a Canvas object.
2. Instruction objects.
Each Widget in Kivy already has a Canvas by default. When you create a widget, you can create all
the instructions needed for drawing. If self is your current widget, you can do:
from kivy.graphics import *
with self.canvas:
# Add a red color
Color(1., 0, 0)
# Add a rectangle
Rectangle(pos=(10, 10), size=(500, 500))
The instructions Color and Rectangle are automaticly added to the canvas object and will be used
when the window is drawn.
Note: Kivy drawing instructions are not automatically relative to the widgets position or size. You
therefore you need to consider these factors when drawing. In order to make your drawing instructions
relative to the widget, the instructions need either to be declared in the KvLang or bound to pos and
size changes. Please see Adding a Background to a Layout for more detail.
28.2 GL Reloading mechanism

During the lifetime of the application, the OpenGL context might be lost. This happens:
when the window is resized on OS X or the Windows platform and youre using pygame as a
window provider. This is due to SDL 1.2. In the SDL 1.2 design, it needs to recreate a GL context
everytime the window is resized. This was fixed in SDL 1.3 but pygame is not yet available on it
by default.
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when Android releases the app resources: when your application goes to the background, Android might reclaim your opengl context to give the resource to another app. When the user
switches back to your application, a newly created gl context is given to your app.
Starting from 1.2.0, we have introduced a mechanism for reloading all the graphics resources using the
GPU: Canvas, FBO, Shader, Texture, VBO, and VertexBatch:
VBO and VertexBatch are constructed by our graphics instructions. We have all the data needed
to reconstruct when reloading.
Shader: same as VBO, we store the source and values used in the shader so we are able to recreate
the vertex/fragment/program.
Texture: if the texture has a source (an image file or atlas), the image is reloaded from the source
and reuploaded to the GPU.
You should cover these cases yourself:
Textures without a source: if you manually created a texture and manually blit data / a buffer to
it, you must handle the reloading yourself. Check the Texture to learn how to manage that case.
(The text rendering already generates the texture and handles the reloading. You dont need to
reload text yourself.)
FBO: if you added / removed / drew things multiple times on the FBO, we cant reload it. We
dont keep a history of the instructions put on it. As for textures without a source, check the
Framebuffer to learn how to manage that case.
class kivy.graphics.Bezier
Bases: kivy.graphics.instructions.VertexInstruction
A 2d Bezier curve.
Parameters
points: listList of points in the format (x1, y1, x2, y2...)
segments: int, defaults to 180Define how many segments are needed for drawing the curve. The drawing will be smoother if you have many segments.
loop: bool, defaults to FalseSet the bezier curve to join the last point to the first.
dash_length: intLength of a segment (if dashed), defaults to 1.
dash_offset: intDistance between the end of a segment and the start of the next
one, defaults to 0. Changing this makes it dashed.
dash_length
Property for getting/setting the length of the dashes in the curve.
dash_offset
Property for getting/setting the offset between the dashes in the curve.
points
Property for getting/settings the points of the triangle.
Warning: This will always reconstruct the whole graphic from the new points list. It can
be very CPU intensive.
segments
Property for getting/setting the number of segments of the curve.
class kivy.graphics.BindTexture
Bases: kivy.graphics.instructions.ContextInstruction
BindTexture Graphic instruction. The BindTexture Instruction will bind a texture and enable
GL_TEXTURE_2D for subsequent drawing.
Parameters
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texture: TextureSpecifies the texture to bind to the given index.

source
Set/get the source (filename) to load for the texture.
class kivy.graphics.BorderImage
Bases: kivy.graphics.vertex_instructions.Rectangle
A 2d border image. The behavior of the border image is similar to the concept of a CSS3 borderimage.
Parameters
border: listBorder information in the format (top, right, bottom, left). Each value
is in pixels.
auto_scale: boolNew in version 1.9.1.
If the BorderImages size is less than the sum of its borders, horizontally
or vertically, and this property is set to True, the borders will be rescaled to
accomodate for the smaller size.
auto_scale
Property for setting if the corners are automatically scaled when the BorderImage is too
small.
border
Property for getting/setting the border of the class.
display_border
Property for getting/setting the border display size.
class kivy.graphics.Callback
Bases: kivy.graphics.instructions.Instruction
A Callback is an instruction that will be called when the drawing operation is performed. When
adding instructions to a canvas, you can do this:
with self.canvas:
Color(1, 1, 1)
Callback(self.my_callback)
The definition of the callback must be:

def my_callback(self, instr):
print('I have been called!')
Warning: Note that if you perform many and/or costly calls to callbacks, you might potentially slow down the rendering performance significantly.
The updating of your canvas does not occur until something new happens. From your callback,
you can ask for an update:
with self.canvas:
self.cb = Callback(self.my_callback)
# then later in the code
self.cb.ask_update()
If you use the Callback class to call rendering methods of another toolkit, you will have issues
with the OpenGL context. The OpenGL state may have been manipulated by the other toolkit,
and as soon as program flow returns to Kivy, it will just break. You can have glitches, crashes,
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black holes might occur, etc. To avoid that, you can activate the reset_context option. It will
reset the OpenGL context state to make Kivys rendering correct after the call to your callback.
Warning: The reset_context is not a full OpenGL reset. If you have issues regarding that,
please contact us.
ask_update()
Inform the parent canvas that wed like it to update on the next frame. This is useful when
you need to trigger a redraw due to some value having changed for example.
reset_context
Set this to True if you want to reset the OpenGL context for Kivy after the callback has been
called.
class kivy.graphics.Canvas
Bases: kivy.graphics.instructions.CanvasBase
The important Canvas class. Use this class to add graphics or context instructions that you want
to be used for drawing.
Note: The Canvas supports Pythons with statement and its enter & exit semantics.
Usage of a canvas without the with statement:
self.canvas.add(Color(1., 1., 0))
self.canvas.add(Rectangle(size=(50, 50)))
Usage of a canvas with Pythons with statement:

with self.canvas:
Color(1., 1., 0)
Rectangle(size=(50, 50))
after
Property for getting the after group.
ask_update()
Inform the canvas that wed like it to update on the next frame. This is useful when you
need to trigger a redraw due to some value having changed for example.
before
Property for getting the before group.
clear()
Clears every Instruction in the canvas, leaving it clean.
draw()
Apply the instruction to our window.
has_after
Property to see if the after group has already been created.
has_before
Property to see if the before group has already been created.
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opacity
Property to get/set the opacity value of the canvas.
The opacity attribute controls the opacity of the canvas and its children. Be careful, its a
cumulative attribute: the value is multiplied to the current global opacity and the result is
applied to the current context color.
For example: if your parent has an opacity of 0.5 and a child has an opacity of 0.2, the real
opacity of the child will be 0.5 * 0.2 = 0.1.
Then, the opacity is applied on the shader as:
frag_color = color * vec4(1.0, 1.0, 1.0, opacity);
class kivy.graphics.CanvasBase
Bases: kivy.graphics.instructions.InstructionGroup
CanvasBase provides the context manager methods for the Canvas.
class kivy.graphics.Color
Instruction to set the color state for any vertices being drawn after it.
This represents a color between 0 and 1, but is applied as a multiplier to the texture of any vertex
instructions following it in a canvas. If no texture is set, the vertex instruction takes the precise
color of the Color instruction.
For instance, if a Rectangle has a texture with uniform color (0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 1.0) and the
preceding Color has rgba=(1, 0.5, 2, 1), the actual visible color will be (0.5, 0.25,
1.0, 1.0) since the Color instruction is applied as a multiplier to every rgba component. In
this case, a Color component outside the 0-1 range gives a visible result as the intensity of the blue
component is doubled.
To declare a Color in Python, you can do:
from kivy.graphics import Color
#
c
#
c
#
c
create red v
= Color(1, 0, 0)
create blue color
= Color(0, 1, 0)
create blue color with 50% alpha
= Color(0, 1, 0, .5)
#
c
#
c
using hsv mode

= Color(0, 1, 1, mode='hsv')
using hsv mode + alpha
= Color(0, 1, 1, .2, mode='hsv')
You can also set color components that are available as properties by passing them as keyword
arguments:
c = Color(b=0.5)
# sets the blue component only
In kv lang you can set the color properties directly:
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<Rule>:
canvas:
# red color
Color:
rgb: 1, 0, 0
# blue color
Color:
rgb: 0, 1, 0
# blue color with 50% alpha
Color:
rgba: 0, 1, 0, .5
# using hsv
Color:
hsv: 0,
# using hsv
Color:
hsv: 0,
a: .5
mode
1, 1
mode + alpha
1, 1
a
Alpha component, between 0 and 1.
b
Blue component, between 0 and 1.
g
Green component, between 0 and 1.
h
Hue component, between 0 and 1.
hsv
HSV color, list of 3 values in 0-1 range, alpha will be 1.
r
Red component, between 0 and 1.
rgb
RGB color, list of 3 values in 0-1 range. The alpha will be 1.
rgba
RGBA color, list of 4 values in 0-1 range.
s
Saturation component, between 0 and 1.
v
Value component, between 0 and 1.
class kivy.graphics.ContextInstruction
The ContextInstruction class is the base for the creation of instructions that dont have a direct
visual representation, but instead modify the current Canvas state, e.g. texture binding, setting
color parameters, matrix manipulation and so on.
class kivy.graphics.Ellipse
A 2D ellipse.
Changed in version 1.0.7: Added angle_start and angle_end.
Parameters
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segments: int, defaults to 180Define how many segments are needed for drawing the ellipse. The drawing will be smoother if you have many segments.
angle_start: int, defaults to 0Specifies the starting angle, in degrees, of the disk
portion.
angle_end: int, defaults to 360Specifies the ending angle, in degrees, of the disk
portion.
angle_end
End angle of the ellipse in degrees, defaults to 360.
angle_start
Start angle of the ellipse in degrees, defaults to 0.
segments
Property for getting/setting the number of segments of the ellipse.
class kivy.graphics.Fbo
Bases: kivy.graphics.instructions.RenderContext
Fbo class for wrapping the OpenGL Framebuffer extension. The Fbo support with statement.
Parameters
clear_color: tuple, defaults to (0, 0, 0, 0)Define the default color for clearing the
framebuffer
size: tuple, defaults to (1024, 1024)Default size of the framebuffer
push_viewport: bool, defaults to TrueIf True, the OpenGL viewport will be set
to the framebuffer size, and will be automatically restored when the framebuffer released.
with_depthbuffer: bool, defaults to FalseIf True, the framebuffer will be allocated with a Z buffer.
with_stencilbuffer: bool, defaults to FalseNew in version 1.9.0.
If True, the framebuffer will be allocated with a stencil buffer.
texture: Texture, defaults to NoneIf None, a default texture will be created.
Note: Using both of with_stencilbuffer and with_depthbuffer is not supported in kivy
1.9.0
add_reload_observer()
Add a callback to be called after the whole graphics context has been reloaded. This is where
you can reupload your custom data in GPU.
Parameters
callback: func(context) -> return NoneThe first parameter will be the context itself
bind()
Bind the FBO to the current opengl context. Bind mean that you enable the Framebuffer, and
all the drawing operations will act inside the Framebuffer, until release() is called.
The bind/release operations are automatically called when you add graphics objects into it.
If you want to manipulate a Framebuffer yourself, you can use it like this:
self.fbo = FBO()
self.fbo.bind()
# do any drawing command
self.fbo.release()
# then, your fbo texture is available at
print(self.fbo.texture)
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clear_buffer()
Clear the framebuffer with the clear_color.
You need to bind the framebuffer yourself before calling this method:
fbo.bind()
fbo.clear_buffer()
fbo.release()
clear_color
Clear color in (red, green, blue, alpha) format.
get_pixel_color()
Get the color of the pixel with specified window coordinates wx, wy. It returns result in
RGBA format.
pixels
Get the pixels texture, in RGBA format only, unsigned byte. The origin of the image is at
bottom left.
release()
Release the Framebuffer (unbind).
remove_reload_observer()
Remove a callback from the observer list, previously added by add_reload_observer().
size
Size of the framebuffer, in (width, height) format.
If you change the size, the framebuffer content will be lost.
texture
Return the framebuffer texture
exception kivy.graphics.GraphicException
Bases: Exception
Exception raised when a graphics error is fired.
class kivy.graphics.Instruction
Represents the smallest instruction available. This class is for internal usage only, dont use it
directly.
proxy_ref
Return a proxy reference to the Instruction i.e. without creating a reference of the widget.
See weakref.proxy for more information.
class kivy.graphics.InstructionGroup
Group of Instructions. Allows for the adding and removing of graphics instructions. It can
be used directly as follows:
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blue = InstructionGroup()
blue.add(Color(0, 0, 1, 0.2))
blue.add(Rectangle(pos=self.pos, size=(100, 100)))
green = InstructionGroup()
green.add(Color(0, 1, 0, 0.4))
green.add(Rectangle(pos=(100, 100), size=(100, 100)))
# Here, self should be a Widget or subclass
[self.canvas.add(group) for group in [blue, green]]
add()
Add a new Instruction to our list.
clear()
Remove all the Instructions.
get_group()
Return an iterable for all the Instructions with a specific group name.
insert()
Insert a new Instruction into our list at index.
remove()
Remove an existing Instruction from our list.
remove_group()
Remove all Instructions with a specific group name.
class kivy.graphics.Line
A 2d line.
Drawing a line can be done easily:
with self.canvas:
Line(points=[100, 100, 200, 100, 100, 200], width=10)
The line has 3 internal drawing modes that you should be aware of for optimal results:
1.If the width is 1.0, then the standard GL_LINE drawing from OpenGL will be used.
dash_length and dash_offset will work, while properties for cap and joint have no
meaning here.
2.If the width is greater than 1.0, then a custom drawing method, based on triangulation, will
be used. dash_length and dash_offset do not work in this mode. Additionally, if the
current color has an alpha less than 1.0, a stencil will be used internally to draw the line.
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Parameters
dash_offset: intOffset between the end of a segment and the begining of the next
width: floatWidth of the line, defaults to 1.0.
cap: str, defaults to roundSee cap for more information.
joint: str, defaults to roundSee joint for more information.
cap_precision: int, defaults to 10See cap_precision for more information
joint_precision: int, defaults to 10See joint_precision for more information
See cap_precision for more information.
joint_precision: int, defaults to 10See joint_precision for more information.
close: bool, defaults to FalseIf True, the line will be closed.
circle: listIf set, the points will be set to build a circle. See circle for more
information.
ellipse: listIf set, the points will be set to build an ellipse. See ellipse for
more information.
rectangle: listIf set, the points will be set to build a rectangle. See rectangle
for more information.
bezier: listIf set, the points will be set to build a bezier line. See bezier for
more information.
bezier_precision: int, defaults to 180Precision of the Bezier drawing.
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Changed in version 1.0.8: dash_offset and dash_length have been added.

Changed in version 1.4.1: width, cap, joint, cap_precision, joint_precision, close, ellipse, rectangle have
been added.
Changed in version 1.4.1: bezier, bezier_precision have been added.
bezier
Use this property to build a bezier line, without calculating the points. You can only set
this property, not get it.
The argument must be a tuple of 2n elements, n being the number of points.
Usage:
Line(bezier=(x1, y1, x2, y2, x3, y3)

Note: Bezier lines calculations are inexpensive for a low number of points, but complexity
is quadratic, so lines with a lot of points can be very expensive to build, use with care!
bezier_precision
Number of iteration for drawing the bezier between 2 segments, defaults to 180. The
bezier_precision must be at least 1.
cap
Determine the cap of the line, defaults to round. Can be one of none, square or round
cap_precision
Number of iteration for drawing the round cap, defaults to 10. The cap_precision must be
at least 1.
circle
Use this property to build a circle, without calculate the points. You can only set this
property, not get it.
The argument must be a tuple of (center_x, center_y, radius, angle_start, angle_end, segments):
center_x and center_y represent the center of the circle
radius represent the radius of the circle
(optional) angle_start and angle_end are in degree. The defaultvalue is 0 and 360.
(optional) segments is the precision of the ellipse. The defaultvalue is calculated
from the range between angle.
Note that its up to you to close the circle or not.
For example, for building a simple ellipse, in python:
# simple circle
Line(circle=(150, 150, 50))
# only from 90 to 180 degrees
Line(circle=(150, 150, 50, 90, 180))
# only from 90 to 180 degrees, with few segments
Line(circle=(150, 150, 50, 90, 180, 20))
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close
If True, the line will be closed.
dash_length
Property for getting/setting the length of the dashes in the curve
dash_offset
Property for getting/setting the offset between the dashes in the curve
ellipse
Use this property to build an ellipse, without calculating the points. You can only set this
The argument must be a tuple of (x, y, width, height, angle_start, angle_end, segments):
x and y represent the bottom left of the ellipse
width and height represent the size of the ellipse
Note that its up to you to close the ellipse or not.
# simple ellipse
Line(ellipse=(0, 0, 150, 150))
Line(ellipse=(0, 0, 150, 150, 90, 180))
Line(ellipse=(0, 0, 150, 150, 90, 180, 20))

joint
Determine the join of the line, defaults to round. Can be one of none, round, bevel,
miter.
joint_precision
Number of iteration for drawing the round joint, defaults to 10. The joint_precision must
be at least 1.
points
Property for getting/settings points of the line
Warning: This will always reconstruct the whole graphics from the new points list. It
can be very CPU expensive.
rectangle
Use this property to build a rectangle, without calculating the points. You can only set this
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The argument must be a tuple of (x, y, width, height) angle_end, segments):

x and y represent the bottom-left position of the rectangle
width and height represent the size
The line is automatically closed.
Usage:
Line(rectangle=(0, 0, 200, 200))

rounded_rectangle
The argument must be a tuple of one of the following forms:
(x, y, width, height, corner_radius)
(x, y, width, height, corner_radius, resolution)
(x, y, width, height, corner_radius1, corner_radius2, corner_radius3, corner_radius4)
(x, y, width, height, corner_radius1, corner_radius2, corner_radius3, corner_radius4,
resolution)
corner_radius is the number of pixels between two borders and the center of the circle
arc joining them
resolution is the numper of line segment that will be used to draw the circle arc at each
corner (defaults to 30)
Usage:
Line(rounded_rectangle=(0, 0, 200, 200, 10, 20, 30, 40, 100))

width
Determine the width of the line, defaults to 1.0.
class kivy.graphics.SmoothLine
Bases: kivy.graphics.vertex_instructions.Line
Experimental line using over-draw methods to get better anti-aliasing results. It has few drawbacks:
drawing a line with alpha will probably not have the intended result if the line crosses itself.
cap, joint and dash properties are not supported.
it uses a custom texture with a premultiplied alpha.
lines under 1px in width are not supported: they will look the same.
Warning: This is an unfinished work, experimental, and subject to crashes.
overdraw_width
Determine the overdraw width of the line, defaults to 1.2.
class kivy.graphics.MatrixInstruction
Base class for Matrix Instruction on the canvas.
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matrix
Matrix property. Matrix from the transformation module. Setting the matrix using this
property when a change is made is important because it will notify the context about the
update.
stack
Name of the matrix stack to use. Can be modelview_mat or projection_mat.
class kivy.graphics.Mesh
A 2d mesh.
In OpenGL ES 2.0 and in our graphics implementation, you cannot have more than 65535 indices.
A list of vertices is described as:
vertices = [x1, y1, u1, v1, x2, y2, u2, v2, ...]
|
| |
|
+---- i1 ----+ +---- i2 ----+
If you want to draw a triangle, add 3 vertices. You can then make an indices list as follows:
indices = [0, 1, 2]
Parameters
vertices: listList of vertices in the format (x1, y1, u1, v1, x2, y2, u2, v2...).
indices: listList of indices in the format (i1, i2, i3...).
mode: strMode of the vbo. Check mode for more information. Defaults to
points.
fmt: listThe format for vertices, by default, each vertex is described by 2D coordinates (x, y) and 2D texture coordinate (u, v). Each element of the list
should be a tuple or list, of the form
(variable_name, size, type)
which will allow mapping vertex data to the glsl instructions.
[(bv_pos, 2, bfloat), (bv_tc, 2, bfloat),]
will allow using
attribute vec2 v_pos; attribute vec2 v_tc;
in glsls vertex shader.
indices
Vertex indices used to specify the order when drawing the mesh.
mode
VBO Mode used for drawing vertices/indices. Can be one of points, line_strip,
line_loop, lines, triangles, triangle_strip or triangle_fan.
vertices
List of x, y, u, v coordinates used to construct the Mesh. Right now, the Mesh instruction
doesnt allow you to change the format of the vertices, which means its only x, y + one
texture coordinate.
class kivy.graphics.Point
A list of 2d points. Each point is represented as a square with a width/height of 2 times the
pointsize.
Parameters
points: listList of points in the format (x1, y1, x2, y2...), where each pair of coordinates specifies the center of a new point.
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pointsize: float, defaults to 1.The size of the point, measured from the center to
the edge. A value of 1.0 therefore means the real size will be 2.0 x 2.0.
Warning: Starting from version 1.0.7, vertex instruction have a limit of 65535 vertices (indices
of vertex to be accurate). 2 entries in the list (x, y) will be converted to 4 vertices. So the limit
inside Point() class is 2^15-2.
add_point()
Add a point to the current points list.
If you intend to add multiple points, prefer to use this method instead of reassigning a new
points list. Assigning a new points list will recalculate and reupload the whole buffer
into the GPU. If you use add_point, it will only upload the changes.
points
Property for getting/settings the center points in the points list. Each pair of coordinates
specifies the center of a new point.
pointsize
Property for getting/setting point size. The size is measured from the center to the edge, so
a value of 1.0 means the real size will be 2.0 x 2.0.
class kivy.graphics.PopMatrix
Pop the matrix from the contexts matrix stack onto the model view.
stack
class kivy.graphics.PushMatrix
Push the matrix onto the contexts matrix stack.
stack
class kivy.graphics.Quad
A 2d quad.
Parameters
points: listList of point in the format (x1, y1, x2, y2, x3, y3, x4, y4).
points
Property for getting/settings points of the quad.
class kivy.graphics.Rectangle
A 2d rectangle.
Parameters
pos: listPosition of the rectangle, in the format (x, y).
size: listSize of the rectangle, in the format (width, height).
pos
Property for getting/settings the position of the rectangle.
size
Property for getting/settings the size of the rectangle.
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class kivy.graphics.RenderContext
Bases: kivy.graphics.instructions.Canvas
The render context stores all the necessary information for drawing, i.e.:
The vertex shader
The fragment shader
The default texture
The state stack (color, texture, matrix...)
shader
Return the shader attached to the render context.
use_parent_modelview
If True, the parent modelview matrix will be used.
Before:
rc['modelview_mat'] = Window.render_context['modelview_mat']
Now:
rc = RenderContext(use_parent_modelview=True)
use_parent_projection
If True, the parent projection matrix will be used.
Before:
rc['projection_mat'] = Window.render_context['projection_mat']
Now:
rc = RenderContext(use_parent_projection=True)
class kivy.graphics.Rotate
Bases: kivy.graphics.context_instructions.Transform
Rotate the coordinate space by applying a rotation transformation on the modelview matrix. You
can set the properties of the instructions afterwards with e.g.:
rot.angle = 90
rot.axis = (0, 0, 1)
angle
Property for getting/setting the angle of the rotation.
axis
Property for getting/setting the axis of the rotation.
The format of the axis is (x, y, z).
origin
Origin of the rotation.
The format of the origin can be either (x, y) or (x, y, z).
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set()
Set the angle and axis of rotation.
>>> rotationobject.set(90, 0, 0, 1)
Deprecated since version 1.7.0: The set() method doesnt use the new origin property.
class kivy.graphics.Scale
Instruction to create a non uniform scale transformation.
Create using one or three arguments:
Scale(s)
Scale(x, y, z)
# scale all three axes the same

# scale the axes independently
Deprecated since version 1.6.0: Deprecated single scale property in favor of x, y, z, xyz axis independant scaled factors.
origin
Origin of the scale.
scale
Property for getting/setting the scale.
Deprecated since version 1.6.0: Deprecated in favor of per axis scale properties x,y,z, xyz,
etc.
x
Property for getting/setting the scale on the X axis.
xyz
3 tuple scale vector in 3D in x, y, and z axis.
y
Property for getting/setting the scale on the Y axis.
z
Property for getting/setting the scale on Z axis.
class kivy.graphics.StencilPop
Pop the stencil stack. See the module documentation for more information.
class kivy.graphics.StencilPush
Push the stencil stack. See the module documentation for more information.
class kivy.graphics.StencilUse
Use current stencil buffer as a mask. Check the module documentation for more information.
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func_op
Determine the stencil operation to use for glStencilFunc(). Can be one of never, less,
equal, lequal, greater, notequal, gequal or always.
By default, the operator is set to equal.
class kivy.graphics.StencilUnUse
Use current stencil buffer to unset the mask.
class kivy.graphics.Translate
Instruction to create a translation of the model view coordinate space.
Construct by either:
Translate(x, y)
Translate(x, y, z)
# translate in just the two axes

# translate in all three axes
x
Property for getting/setting the translation on the X axis.
xy
2 tuple with translation vector in 2D for x and y axis.
xyz
3 tuple translation vector in 3D in x, y, and z axis.
y
Property for getting/setting the translation on the Y axis.
z
Property for getting/setting the translation on the Z axis.
class kivy.graphics.Triangle
A 2d triangle.
Parameters
points: listList of points in the format (x1, y1, x2, y2, x3, y3).
points
Property for getting/settings points of the triangle.
class kivy.graphics.VertexInstruction
The VertexInstruction class is the base for all graphics instructions that have a direct visual representation on the canvas, such as Rectangles, Triangles, Lines, Ellipse and so on.
source
This property represents the filename to load the texture from. If you want to use an image
as source, do it like this:
with self.canvas:
Rectangle(source='mylogo.png', pos=self.pos, size=self.size)
Heres the equivalent in Kivy language:
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<MyWidget>:
canvas:
Rectangle:
source: 'mylogo.png'
pos: self.pos
size: self.size
Note: The filename will be searched for using the kivy.resources.resource_find()

function.
tex_coords
This property represents the texture coordinates used for drawing the vertex instruction.
The value must be a list of 8 values.
A texture coordinate has a position (u, v), and a size (w, h). The size can be negative, and
would represent the flipped texture. By default, the tex_coords are:
[u, v, u + w, v, u + w, y + h, u, y + h]
You can pass your own texture coordinates if you want to achieve fancy effects.
Warning: The default values just mentioned can be negative. Depending on the image
and label providers, the coordinates are flipped vertically because of the order in which
the image is internally stored. Instead of flipping the image data, we are just flipping the
texture coordinates to be faster.
texture
Property that represents the texture used for drawing this Instruction. You can set a new
texture like this:
texture = Image('logo.png').texture
with self.canvas:
Rectangle(texture=texture, pos=self.pos, size=self.size)
Usually, you will use the source attribute instead of the texture.
class kivy.graphics.ClearColor
ClearColor Graphics Instruction.
Sets the clear color used to clear buffers with the glClear function or ClearBuffers graphics
instructions.
a
b
g
r
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rgb
RGB color, a list of 3 values in 0-1 range where alpha will be 1.
rgba
RGBA color used for the clear color, a list of 4 values in the 0-1 range.
class kivy.graphics.ClearBuffers
Clearbuffer Graphics Instruction.
Clear the buffers specified by the instructions buffer mask property. By default, only the coloc
buffer is cleared.
clear_color
If True, the color buffer will be cleared.
clear_depth
If True, the depth buffer will be cleared.
clear_stencil
If True, the stencil buffer will be cleared.
class kivy.graphics.PushState
Instruction that pushes arbitrary states/uniforms onto the context state stack.
class kivy.graphics.ChangeState
Instruction that changes the values of arbitrary states/uniforms on the current render context.
class kivy.graphics.PopState
Instruction that pops arbitrary states/uniforms off the context state stack.
class kivy.graphics.ApplyContextMatrix
Pre-multiply the matrix at the top of the stack specified by target_stack by the matrix at the top of
the source_stack
source_stack
Name of the matrix stack to use as a source. Can be modelview_mat or projection_mat.
target_stack
Name of the matrix stack to use as a target. Can be modelview_mat or projection_mat.
class kivy.graphics.UpdateNormalMatrix
Update the normal matrix normal_mat based on the current modelview matrix. This will compute normal_mat uniform as: inverse( transpose( mat3(mvm) ) )
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class kivy.graphics.LoadIdentity
Load the identity Matrix into the matrix stack specified by the instructions stack property (default=modelview_mat)
stack
28.3 Canvas
The Canvas is the root object used for drawing by a Widget. Check the class documentation for more
information about the usage of Canvas.
class kivy.graphics.instructions.Instruction
Represents the smallest instruction available. This class is for internal usage only, dont use it
directly.
proxy_ref
Return a proxy reference to the Instruction i.e. without creating a reference of the widget.
See weakref.proxy for more information.
class kivy.graphics.instructions.InstructionGroup
Group of Instructions. Allows for the adding and removing of graphics instructions. It can
be used directly as follows:
blue = InstructionGroup()
blue.add(Color(0, 0, 1, 0.2))
blue.add(Rectangle(pos=self.pos, size=(100, 100)))
green = InstructionGroup()
green.add(Color(0, 1, 0, 0.4))
green.add(Rectangle(pos=(100, 100), size=(100, 100)))
# Here, self should be a Widget or subclass
[self.canvas.add(group) for group in [blue, green]]
add()
Add a new Instruction to our list.
clear()
Remove all the Instructions.
get_group()
Return an iterable for all the Instructions with a specific group name.
insert()
Insert a new Instruction into our list at index.
remove()
Remove an existing Instruction from our list.
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remove_group()
Remove all Instructions with a specific group name.
class kivy.graphics.instructions.ContextInstruction
The ContextInstruction class is the base for the creation of instructions that dont have a direct
visual representation, but instead modify the current Canvas state, e.g. texture binding, setting
color parameters, matrix manipulation and so on.
class kivy.graphics.instructions.VertexInstruction
The VertexInstruction class is the base for all graphics instructions that have a direct visual representation on the canvas, such as Rectangles, Triangles, Lines, Ellipse and so on.
source
This property represents the filename to load the texture from. If you want to use an image
as source, do it like this:
with self.canvas:
Rectangle(source='mylogo.png', pos=self.pos, size=self.size)
Heres the equivalent in Kivy language:

<MyWidget>:
canvas:
Rectangle:
source: 'mylogo.png'
pos: self.pos
size: self.size
Note: The filename will be searched for using the kivy.resources.resource_find()

function.
tex_coords
This property represents the texture coordinates used for drawing the vertex instruction.
The value must be a list of 8 values.
A texture coordinate has a position (u, v), and a size (w, h). The size can be negative, and
would represent the flipped texture. By default, the tex_coords are:
[u, v, u + w, v, u + w, y + h, u, y + h]
You can pass your own texture coordinates if you want to achieve fancy effects.
Warning: The default values just mentioned can be negative. Depending on the image
and label providers, the coordinates are flipped vertically because of the order in which
the image is internally stored. Instead of flipping the image data, we are just flipping the
texture coordinates to be faster.
texture
Property that represents the texture used for drawing this Instruction. You can set a new
texture like this:
texture = Image('logo.png').texture
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with self.canvas:
Rectangle(texture=texture, pos=self.pos, size=self.size)
Usually, you will use the source attribute instead of the texture.
class kivy.graphics.instructions.Canvas
Bases: kivy.graphics.instructions.CanvasBase
The important Canvas class. Use this class to add graphics or context instructions that you want
to be used for drawing.
Note: The Canvas supports Pythons with statement and its enter & exit semantics.
Usage of a canvas without the with statement:
self.canvas.add(Color(1., 1., 0))
self.canvas.add(Rectangle(size=(50, 50)))
Usage of a canvas with Pythons with statement:

with self.canvas:
Color(1., 1., 0)
after
Property for getting the after group.
ask_update()
Inform the canvas that wed like it to update on the next frame. This is useful when you
need to trigger a redraw due to some value having changed for example.
before
Property for getting the before group.
clear()
Clears every Instruction in the canvas, leaving it clean.
draw()
Apply the instruction to our window.
has_after
Property to see if the after group has already been created.
has_before
Property to see if the before group has already been created.
opacity
Property to get/set the opacity value of the canvas.
The opacity attribute controls the opacity of the canvas and its children. Be careful, its a
cumulative attribute: the value is multiplied to the current global opacity and the result is
For example: if your parent has an opacity of 0.5 and a child has an opacity of 0.2, the real
Then, the opacity is applied on the shader as:
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class kivy.graphics.instructions.CanvasBase
Bases: kivy.graphics.instructions.InstructionGroup
CanvasBase provides the context manager methods for the Canvas.
class kivy.graphics.instructions.RenderContext
Bases: kivy.graphics.instructions.Canvas
The render context stores all the necessary information for drawing, i.e.:
The vertex shader
The fragment shader
The default texture
The state stack (color, texture, matrix...)
shader
Return the shader attached to the render context.
use_parent_modelview
If True, the parent modelview matrix will be used.
Before:
rc['modelview_mat'] = Window.render_context['modelview_mat']
Now:
rc = RenderContext(use_parent_modelview=True)
use_parent_projection
If True, the parent projection matrix will be used.
Before:
rc['projection_mat'] = Window.render_context['projection_mat']
Now:
rc = RenderContext(use_parent_projection=True)
class kivy.graphics.instructions.Callback
A Callback is an instruction that will be called when the drawing operation is performed. When
adding instructions to a canvas, you can do this:
with self.canvas:
Color(1, 1, 1)
Callback(self.my_callback)
The definition of the callback must be:
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def my_callback(self, instr):

print('I have been called!')
Warning: Note that if you perform many and/or costly calls to callbacks, you might potentially slow down the rendering performance significantly.
The updating of your canvas does not occur until something new happens. From your callback,
you can ask for an update:
with self.canvas:
self.cb = Callback(self.my_callback)
# then later in the code
self.cb.ask_update()
If you use the Callback class to call rendering methods of another toolkit, you will have issues
with the OpenGL context. The OpenGL state may have been manipulated by the other toolkit,
and as soon as program flow returns to Kivy, it will just break. You can have glitches, crashes,
black holes might occur, etc. To avoid that, you can activate the reset_context option. It will
reset the OpenGL context state to make Kivys rendering correct after the call to your callback.
Warning: The reset_context is not a full OpenGL reset. If you have issues regarding that,
please contact us.
ask_update()
Inform the parent canvas that wed like it to update on the next frame. This is useful when
you need to trigger a redraw due to some value having changed for example.
reset_context
Set this to True if you want to reset the OpenGL context for Kivy after the callback has been
called.
28.4 Context instructions

The context instructions represent non graphics elements such as:
Matrix manipulations (PushMatrix, PopMatrix, Rotate, Translate, Scale, MatrixInstruction)
Color manipulations (Color)
Texture bindings (BindTexture)
Changed in version 1.0.8: The LineWidth instruction has been removed. It wasnt working before and
we actually have no working implementation. We need to do more experimentation to get it right.
Check the bug #207 for more information.
class kivy.graphics.context_instructions.Color
Instruction to set the color state for any vertices being drawn after it.
This represents a color between 0 and 1, but is applied as a multiplier to the texture of any vertex
instructions following it in a canvas. If no texture is set, the vertex instruction takes the precise
color of the Color instruction.
For instance, if a Rectangle has a texture with uniform color (0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 1.0) and the
preceding Color has rgba=(1, 0.5, 2, 1), the actual visible color will be (0.5, 0.25,
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1.0, 1.0) since the Color instruction is applied as a multiplier to every rgba component. In
this case, a Color component outside the 0-1 range gives a visible result as the intensity of the blue
component is doubled.
To declare a Color in Python, you can do:
from kivy.graphics import Color
#
c
#
c
#
c
create red v
= Color(1, 0, 0)
create blue color
= Color(0, 1, 0)
create blue color with 50% alpha
= Color(0, 1, 0, .5)
#
c
#
c
using hsv mode

= Color(0, 1, 1, mode='hsv')
using hsv mode + alpha
= Color(0, 1, 1, .2, mode='hsv')
You can also set color components that are available as properties by passing them as keyword
arguments:
c = Color(b=0.5)
# sets the blue component only
In kv lang you can set the color properties directly:

<Rule>:
canvas:
# red color
Color:
rgb: 1, 0, 0
# blue color
Color:
rgb: 0, 1, 0
# blue color with 50% alpha
Color:
rgba: 0, 1, 0, .5
# using hsv
Color:
hsv: 0,
# using hsv
Color:
hsv: 0,
a: .5
mode
1, 1
mode + alpha
1, 1
a
b
g
h
Hue component, between 0 and 1.
hsv
HSV color, list of 3 values in 0-1 range, alpha will be 1.
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r
rgb
RGB color, list of 3 values in 0-1 range. The alpha will be 1.
rgba
RGBA color, list of 4 values in 0-1 range.
s
Saturation component, between 0 and 1.
v
Value component, between 0 and 1.
class kivy.graphics.context_instructions.BindTexture
BindTexture Graphic instruction. The BindTexture Instruction will bind a texture and enable
GL_TEXTURE_2D for subsequent drawing.
Parameters
texture: TextureSpecifies the texture to bind to the given index.
source
Set/get the source (filename) to load for the texture.
class kivy.graphics.context_instructions.PushMatrix
Push the matrix onto the contexts matrix stack.
stack
class kivy.graphics.context_instructions.PopMatrix
Pop the matrix from the contexts matrix stack onto the model view.
stack
class kivy.graphics.context_instructions.Rotate
Rotate the coordinate space by applying a rotation transformation on the modelview matrix. You
can set the properties of the instructions afterwards with e.g.:
rot.angle = 90
rot.axis = (0, 0, 1)
angle
Property for getting/setting the angle of the rotation.
axis
Property for getting/setting the axis of the rotation.
The format of the axis is (x, y, z).
origin
Origin of the rotation.
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set()
Set the angle and axis of rotation.
>>> rotationobject.set(90, 0, 0, 1)
Deprecated since version 1.7.0: The set() method doesnt use the new origin property.
class kivy.graphics.context_instructions.Scale
Instruction to create a non uniform scale transformation.
Create using one or three arguments:
Scale(s)
Scale(x, y, z)
# scale all three axes the same

# scale the axes independently
Deprecated since version 1.6.0: Deprecated single scale property in favor of x, y, z, xyz axis independant scaled factors.
origin
Origin of the scale.
scale
Property for getting/setting the scale.
Deprecated since version 1.6.0: Deprecated in favor of per axis scale properties x,y,z, xyz,
etc.
x
Property for getting/setting the scale on the X axis.
xyz
3 tuple scale vector in 3D in x, y, and z axis.
y
Property for getting/setting the scale on the Y axis.
z
Property for getting/setting the scale on Z axis.
class kivy.graphics.context_instructions.Translate
Instruction to create a translation of the model view coordinate space.
Construct by either:
Translate(x, y)
Translate(x, y, z)
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# translate in just the two axes

# translate in all three axes
x
Property for getting/setting the translation on the X axis.
xy
2 tuple with translation vector in 2D for x and y axis.
xyz
3 tuple translation vector in 3D in x, y, and z axis.
y
Property for getting/setting the translation on the Y axis.
z
Property for getting/setting the translation on the Z axis.
class kivy.graphics.context_instructions.MatrixInstruction
Base class for Matrix Instruction on the canvas.
matrix
Matrix property. Matrix from the transformation module. Setting the matrix using this
property when a change is made is important because it will notify the context about the
update.
stack
28.5 Context management

This class manages a registry of all created graphics instructions. It has the ability to flush and delete
them.
You can read more about Kivy graphics contexts in the Graphics module documentation. These are
based on OpenGL graphics contexts.
class kivy.graphics.context.Context
The Context class manages groups of graphics instructions. It can also be used to manage observer callbacks. See add_reload_observer() and remove_reload_observer() for more
information.
(internal) Add a callback to be called after the whole graphics context has been reloaded.
This is where you can reupload your custom data into the GPU.
Parameters
before: boolean, defaults to FalseIf True, the callback will be executed before all the reloading processes. Use it if you want to clear your cache
for example.
Changed in version 1.4.0: before parameter added.
(internal) Remove a callback
add_reload_observer().
from
the
observer
list
previously
added
by
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28.6 Framebuffer
The Fbo is like an offscreen window. You can activate the fbo for rendering into a texture and use your
fbo as a texture for other drawing.
The Fbo acts as a kivy.graphics.instructions.Canvas.
Here is an example of using an fbo for some colored rectangles:
from kivy.graphics import Fbo, Color, Rectangle
class FboTest(Widget):
super(FboTest, self).__init__(**kwargs)
# first step is to create the fbo and use the fbo texture on other
# rectangle
with self.canvas:
# create the fbo
self.fbo = Fbo(size=(256, 256))
# show our fbo on the widget in different size
Color(1, 1, 1)
Rectangle(size=(32, 32), texture=self.fbo.texture)
Rectangle(pos=(32, 0), size=(64, 64), texture=self.fbo.texture)
Rectangle(pos=(96, 0), size=(128, 128), texture=self.fbo.texture)
# in the second step, you can draw whatever you want on the fbo
with self.fbo:
Color(1, 0, 0, .8)
Color(0, 1, 0, .8)
If you change anything in the self.fbo object, it will be automatically updated. The canvas where the fbo
is put will be automatically updated as well.
28.6.1 Reloading the FBO content

If the OpenGL context is lost, then the FBO is lost too. You need to reupload data on it yourself. Use the
Fbo.add_reload_observer() to add a reloading function that will be automatically called when
needed:
super(...).__init__(**kwargs)
self.fbo = Fbo(size=(512, 512))
self.fbo.add_reload_observer(self.populate_fbo)
# and load the data now.
self.populate_fbo(self.fbo)
def populate_fbo(self, fbo):

with fbo:
# .. put your Color / Rectangle / ... here
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This way, you could use the same method for initialization and for reloading. But its up to you.
class kivy.graphics.fbo.Fbo
Fbo class for wrapping the OpenGL Framebuffer extension. The Fbo support with statement.
Parameters
clear_color: tuple, defaults to (0, 0, 0, 0)Define the default color for clearing the
framebuffer
size: tuple, defaults to (1024, 1024)Default size of the framebuffer
push_viewport: bool, defaults to TrueIf True, the OpenGL viewport will be set
to the framebuffer size, and will be automatically restored when the framebuffer released.
with_depthbuffer: bool, defaults to FalseIf True, the framebuffer will be allocated with a Z buffer.
with_stencilbuffer: bool, defaults to FalseNew in version 1.9.0.
If True, the framebuffer will be allocated with a stencil buffer.
texture: Texture, defaults to NoneIf None, a default texture will be created.
Note: Using both of with_stencilbuffer and with_depthbuffer is not supported in kivy
1.9.0
you can reupload your custom data in GPU.
Parameters
bind()
Bind the FBO to the current opengl context. Bind mean that you enable the Framebuffer, and
all the drawing operations will act inside the Framebuffer, until release() is called.
The bind/release operations are automatically called when you add graphics objects into it.
If you want to manipulate a Framebuffer yourself, you can use it like this:
self.fbo = FBO()
self.fbo.bind()
# do any drawing command
self.fbo.release()
# then, your fbo texture is available at
print(self.fbo.texture)
clear_buffer()
Clear the framebuffer with the clear_color.
You need to bind the framebuffer yourself before calling this method:
fbo.bind()
fbo.clear_buffer()
fbo.release()
clear_color
Clear color in (red, green, blue, alpha) format.
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get_pixel_color()
Get the color of the pixel with specified window coordinates wx, wy. It returns result in
RGBA format.
pixels
bottom left.
release()
Release the Framebuffer (unbind).
size
Size of the framebuffer, in (width, height) format.
If you change the size, the framebuffer content will be lost.
texture
Return the framebuffer texture
28.7 GL instructions
28.7.1 Clearing an FBO

To clear an FBO, you can use ClearColor and ClearBuffers instructions like this example:
self.fbo = Fbo(size=self.size)
with self.fbo:
ClearColor(0, 0, 0, 0)
ClearBuffers()
class kivy.graphics.gl_instructions.ClearColor
ClearColor Graphics Instruction.
Sets the clear color used to clear buffers with the glClear function or ClearBuffers graphics
instructions.
a
b
g
r
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rgb
RGB color, a list of 3 values in 0-1 range where alpha will be 1.
rgba
RGBA color used for the clear color, a list of 4 values in the 0-1 range.
class kivy.graphics.gl_instructions.ClearBuffers
Clearbuffer Graphics Instruction.
Clear the buffers specified by the instructions buffer mask property. By default, only the coloc
buffer is cleared.
clear_color
If True, the color buffer will be cleared.
clear_depth
If True, the depth buffer will be cleared.
clear_stencil
If True, the stencil buffer will be cleared.
28.8 Graphics compiler

Before rendering an InstructionGroup, we compile the group in order to reduce the number of
instructions executed at rendering time.
28.8.1 Reducing the context instructions

Imagine that you have a scheme like this:
Color(1, 1, 1)
Rectangle(source='button.png', pos=(0, 0), size=(20, 20))
Color(1, 1, 1)
Color(1, 1, 1)
The real instructions seen by the graphics canvas would be:

Color: change 'color' context to 1, 1, 1
BindTexture: change 'texture0' to `button.png
Rectangle: push vertices (x1, y1...) to vbo &
texture`
draw
texture`
draw
texture`
draw
Only the first Color and BindTexture are useful and really change the context. We can reduce them
to:
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texture`
draw
draw
draw
This is what the compiler does in the first place, by flagging all the unused instruction with GI_IGNORE
flag. As soon as a Color content changes, the whole InstructionGroup will be recompiled and a previously unused Color might be used for the next compilation.
Note to any Kivy contributor / internal developer:
All context instructions are checked to see if they change anything in the cache.
We must ensure that a context instruction is needed for our current Canvas.
We must ensure that we dont depend of any other canvas.
We must reset our cache if one of our children is another instruction group because we dont know
whether it might do weird things or not.
28.9 OpenGL
This module is a Python wrapper for OpenGL commands.
Warning: Not every OpenGL command has been wrapped and because we are using the C binding
for higher performance, and you should rather stick to the Kivy Graphics API. By using OpenGL
commands directly, you might change the OpenGL context and introduce inconsistency between the
Kivy state and the OpenGL state.
kivy.graphics.opengl.glActiveTexture()
See: glActiveTexture() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glAttachShader()
See: glAttachShader() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glBindAttribLocation()
See: glBindAttribLocation() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glBindBuffer()
See: glBindBuffer() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glBindFramebuffer()
See: glBindFramebuffer() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glBindRenderbuffer()
See: glBindRenderbuffer() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glBindTexture()
See: glBindTexture() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glBlendColor()
See: glBlendColor() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glBlendEquation()
See: glBlendEquation() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glBlendEquationSeparate()
See: glBlendEquationSeparate() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glBlendFunc()
See: glBlendFunc() on Kronos website
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kivy.graphics.opengl.glBlendFuncSeparate()
See: glBlendFuncSeparate() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glBufferData()
See: glBufferData() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glBufferSubData()
See: glBufferSubData() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glCheckFramebufferStatus()
See: glCheckFramebufferStatus() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glClear()
See: glClear() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glClearColor()
See: glClearColor() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glClearStencil()
See: glClearStencil() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glColorMask()
See: glColorMask() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glCompileShader()
See: glCompileShader() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glCompressedTexImage2D()
See: glCompressedTexImage2D() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glCompressedTexSubImage2D()
See: glCompressedTexSubImage2D() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glCopyTexImage2D()
See: glCopyTexImage2D() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glCopyTexSubImage2D()
See: glCopyTexSubImage2D() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glCreateProgram()
See: glCreateProgram() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glCreateShader()
See: glCreateShader() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glCullFace()
See: glCullFace() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glDeleteBuffers()
See: glDeleteBuffers() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glDeleteFramebuffers()
See: glDeleteFramebuffers() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glDeleteProgram()
See: glDeleteProgram() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glDeleteRenderbuffers()
See: glDeleteRenderbuffers() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glDeleteShader()
See: glDeleteShader() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glDeleteTextures()
See: glDeleteTextures() on Kronos website
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kivy.graphics.opengl.glDepthFunc()
See: glDepthFunc() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glDepthMask()
See: glDepthMask() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glDetachShader()
See: glDetachShader() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glDisable()
See: glDisable() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glDisableVertexAttribArray()
See: glDisableVertexAttribArray() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glDrawArrays()
See: glDrawArrays() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glDrawElements()
See: glDrawElements() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glEnable()
See: glEnable() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glEnableVertexAttribArray()
See: glEnableVertexAttribArray() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glFinish()
See: glFinish() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glFlush()
See: glFlush() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glFramebufferRenderbuffer()
See: glFramebufferRenderbuffer() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glFramebufferTexture2D()
See: glFramebufferTexture2D() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glFrontFace()
See: glFrontFace() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGenBuffers()
See: glGenBuffers() on Kronos website
Unlike the C specification, the value will be the result of call.
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGenFramebuffers()
See: glGenFramebuffers() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGenRenderbuffers()
See: glGenRenderbuffers() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGenTextures()
See: glGenTextures() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGenerateMipmap()
See: glGenerateMipmap() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGetActiveAttrib()
See: glGetActiveAttrib() on Kronos website
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kivy.graphics.opengl.glGetActiveUniform()
See: glGetActiveUniform() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGetAttachedShaders()
See: glGetAttachedShaders() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGetAttribLocation()
See: glGetAttribLocation() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGetBooleanv()
See: glGetBooleanv() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGetBufferParameteriv()
See: glGetBufferParameteriv() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGetError()
See: glGetError() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGetFloatv()
See: glGetFloatv() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGetFramebufferAttachmentParameteriv()
See: glGetFramebufferAttachmentParameteriv() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGetIntegerv()
See: glGetIntegerv() on Kronos website
Unlike the C specification, the value(s) will be the result of the call
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGetProgramInfoLog()
See: glGetProgramInfoLog() on Kronos website
Unlike the C specification, the source code will be returned as a string.
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGetProgramiv()
See: glGetProgramiv() on Kronos website
Unlike the C specification, the value(s) will be the result of the call
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGetRenderbufferParameteriv()
See: glGetRenderbufferParameteriv() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGetShaderInfoLog()
See: glGetShaderInfoLog() on Kronos website
339
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGetShaderPrecisionFormat()
See: glGetShaderPrecisionFormat() on Kronos website
Warning: Not implemented yet.
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGetShaderSource()
See: glGetShaderSource() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGetShaderiv()
See: glGetShaderiv() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGetString()
See: glGetString() on Kronos website
Unlike the C specification, the value will be returned as a string.
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGetTexParameterfv()
See: glGetTexParameterfv() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGetTexParameteriv()
See: glGetTexParameteriv() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGetUniformLocation()
See: glGetUniformLocation() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGetUniformfv()
See: glGetUniformfv() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGetUniformiv()
See: glGetUniformiv() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGetVertexAttribPointerv()
See: glGetVertexAttribPointerv() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGetVertexAttribfv()
See: glGetVertexAttribfv() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glGetVertexAttribiv()
See: glGetVertexAttribiv() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glHint()
See: glHint() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glIsBuffer()
See: glIsBuffer() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glIsEnabled()
See: glIsEnabled() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glIsFramebuffer()
See: glIsFramebuffer() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glIsProgram()
See: glIsProgram() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glIsRenderbuffer()
See: glIsRenderbuffer() on Kronos website
340
kivy.graphics.opengl.glIsShader()
See: glIsShader() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glIsTexture()
See: glIsTexture() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glLineWidth()
See: glLineWidth() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glLinkProgram()
See: glLinkProgram() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glPixelStorei()
See: glPixelStorei() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glPolygonOffset()
See: glPolygonOffset() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glReadPixels()
See: glReadPixels() on Kronos website
We support only GL_RGB/GL_RGBA as a format and GL_UNSIGNED_BYTE as a type.
kivy.graphics.opengl.glReleaseShaderCompiler()
See: glReleaseShaderCompiler() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glRenderbufferStorage()
See: glRenderbufferStorage() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glSampleCoverage()
See: glSampleCoverage() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glScissor()
See: glScissor() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glShaderBinary()
See: glShaderBinary() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glShaderSource()
See: glShaderSource() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glStencilFunc()
See: glStencilFunc() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glStencilFuncSeparate()
See: glStencilFuncSeparate() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glStencilMask()
See: glStencilMask() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glStencilMaskSeparate()
See: glStencilMaskSeparate() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glStencilOp()
See: glStencilOp() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glStencilOpSeparate()
See: glStencilOpSeparate() on Kronos website
341
kivy.graphics.opengl.glTexImage2D()
See: glTexImage2D() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glTexParameterf()
See: glTexParameterf() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glTexParameterfv()
See: glTexParameterfv() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glTexParameteri()
See: glTexParameteri() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glTexParameteriv()
See: glTexParameteriv() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glTexSubImage2D()
See: glTexSubImage2D() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glUniform1f()
See: glUniform1f() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glUniform1fv()
See: glUniform1fv() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glUniform1i()
See: glUniform1i() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glUniform1iv()
See: glUniform1iv() on Kronos website
342
kivy.graphics.opengl.glUniformMatrix2fv()
See: glUniformMatrix2fv() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glUseProgram()
See: glUseProgram() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glValidateProgram()
See: glValidateProgram() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glVertexAttrib1f()
See: glVertexAttrib1f() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glVertexAttrib1fv()
See: glVertexAttrib1fv() on Kronos website
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kivy.graphics.opengl.glVertexAttribPointer()
See: glVertexAttribPointer() on Kronos website
kivy.graphics.opengl.glViewport()
See: glViewport() on Kronos website
28.10 OpenGL utilities

kivy.graphics.opengl_utils.gl_get_extensions()
Return a list of OpenGL extensions available. All the names in the list have the GL_ stripped at
the start (if it exists) and are in lowercase.
>>> print(gl_get_extensions())
['arb_blend_func_extended', 'arb_color_buffer_float', 'arb_compatibility',
'arb_copy_buffer'... ]
kivy.graphics.opengl_utils.gl_has_extension()
Check if an OpenGL extension is available. If the name starts with GL_, it will be stripped for the
test and converted to lowercase.
>>> gl_has_extension('NV_get_tex_image')
False
>>> gl_has_extension('OES_texture_npot')
True
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kivy.graphics.opengl_utils.gl_has_capability()
Return the status of a OpenGL Capability. This is a wrapper that auto-discovers all the capabilities
that Kivy might need. The current capabilites tested are:
GLCAP_BGRA: Test the support of BGRA texture format
GLCAP_NPOT: Test the support of Non Power of Two texture
GLCAP_S3TC: Test the support of S3TC texture (DXT1, DXT3, DXT5)
GLCAP_DXT1: Test the support of DXT texture (subset of S3TC)
GLCAP_ETC1: Test the support of ETC1 texture
kivy.graphics.opengl_utils.gl_register_get_size()
Register an association between an OpenGL Const used in glGet* to a number of elements.
By example, the GPU_MEMORY_INFO_DEDICATED_VIDMEM_NVX is a special pname that
will return the integer 1 (nvidia only).
>>> GPU_MEMORY_INFO_DEDICATED_VIDMEM_NVX = 0x9047
>>> gl_register_get_size(GPU_MEMORY_INFO_DEDICATED_VIDMEM_NVX, 1)
>>> glGetIntegerv(GPU_MEMORY_INFO_DEDICATED_VIDMEM_NVX)[0]
524288
kivy.graphics.opengl_utils.gl_has_texture_format()
Return whether a texture format is supported by your system, natively or by conversion. For
example, if your card doesnt support bgra, we are able to convert to rgba but only in software
mode.
kivy.graphics.opengl_utils.gl_has_texture_conversion()
Return 1 if the texture can be converted to a native format.
kivy.graphics.opengl_utils.gl_has_texture_native_format()
Return 1 if the texture format is handled natively.
>>> gl_has_texture_format('azdmok')
0
>>> gl_has_texture_format('rgba')
1
>>> gl_has_texture_format('s3tc_dxt1')
[INFO
] [GL
] S3TC texture support is available
[INFO
] [GL
] DXT1 texture support is available
1
kivy.graphics.opengl_utils.gl_get_texture_formats()
Return a list of texture formats recognized by kivy. The texture list is informative but might not
been supported by your hardware. If you want a list of supported textures, you must filter that
list as follows:
supported_fmts = [gl_has_texture_format(x) for x in gl_get_texture_formats()]
kivy.graphics.opengl_utils.gl_get_version()
Return the (major, minor) OpenGL version, parsed from the GL_VERSION.
kivy.graphics.opengl_utils.gl_get_version_minor()
Return the minor component of the OpenGL version.
kivy.graphics.opengl_utils.gl_get_version_major()
Return the major component of the OpenGL version.
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28.11 SVG
Warning: This is highly experimental and subject to change. Dont use it in production.
Load an SVG as a graphics instruction:
from kivy.graphics.svg import Svg
with widget.canvas:
svg = Svg("image.svg")
There is no widget that can display Svg directly, you have to make your own for now. Check the
examples/svg for more informations.
class kivy.graphics.svg.Svg
Svg class. See module for more informations about the usage.
anchor_x
Horizontal anchor position for scaling and rotations. Defaults to 0. The symbolic values
left, center and right are also accepted.
anchor_y
Vertical anchor position for scaling and rotations. Defaults to 0. The symbolic values bottom, center and top are also accepted.
filename
Filename to load.
The parsing and rendering is done as soon as you set the filename.
28.12 Scissor Instructions

Scissor instructions clip your drawing area into a rectangular region.
class:ScissorPush: Begins clipping, sets the bounds of the clip space
class:ScissorPop: Ends clipping
The area provided to clip is in screenspace pixels and must be provided as integer values not floats.
The following code will draw a circle ontop of our widget while clipping the circle so it does not expand
beyond the widget borders. .. code-block:: python
with self.canvas.after: #If our widget is inside another widget that modified the coordinates #spacing (such as ScrollView) we will want to convert to Window coords x,y
= self.to_window(*self.pos) width, height = self.size #We must convert from the possible float values provided by kivy #widgets to an integer screenspace, in python3
round returns an int so #the int cast will be unnecessary. ScissorPush(x=int(round(x)),
y=int(round(y)),
width=int(round(width)), height=int(round(height)))
Color(rgba=(1., 0., 0., .5)) Ellipse(size=(width*2., height*2.),
pos=self.center)
ScissorPop()
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class kivy.graphics.scissor_instructions.Rect
Rect class used internally by ScissorStack and ScissorPush to determine correct clipping area.
class kivy.graphics.scissor_instructions.ScissorPop
Pop the scissor stack. Call after ScissorPush, once you have completed the drawing you wish to
be clipped.
class kivy.graphics.scissor_instructions.ScissorPush
Push the scissor stack. Provide kwargs of x, y, width, height to control the area and position
of the scissoring region. Defaults to 0, 0, 100, 100
Scissor works by clipping all drawing outside of a rectangle starting at int x, int y position and
having sides of int width by int height in Window space coordinates
class kivy.graphics.scissor_instructions.ScissorStack
Class used internally to keep track of the current state of glScissors regions. Do not instantiate,
prefer to inspect the modules scissor_stack.
28.13 Shader
The Shader class handles the compilation of the vertex and fragment shader as well as the creation of
the program in OpenGL.
Todo
Include more complete documentation about the shader.
28.13.1 Header inclusion

When you are creating a Shader, Kivy will always include default parameters. If you dont want to
rewrite this each time you want to customize / write a new shader, you can add the $HEADER$
token and it will be replaced by the corresponding shader header.
Here is the header for the fragment Shader:
#ifdef GL_ES
precision highp float;
#endif
/* Outputs from the vertex shader */
varying vec4 frag_color;
varying vec2 tex_coord0;
/* uniform texture samplers */
uniform sampler2D texture0;
And the header for vertex Shader:
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#ifdef GL_ES
precision highp float;
#endif
/* Outputs to the fragment shader */
varying vec4 frag_color;
varying vec2 tex_coord0;
/* vertex attributes */
attribute vec2
vPosition;
attribute vec2
vTexCoords0;
/* uniform variables */
uniform mat4
modelview_mat;
uniform mat4
projection_mat;
uniform vec4
color;
uniform float
opacity;
28.13.2 Single file glsl shader programs

To simplify shader management, the vertex and fragment shaders can be loaded automatically from
a single glsl source file (plain text). The file should contain sections identified by a line starting with
vertex and fragment respectively (case insensitive), e.g.:
// anything before a meaningful section such as this comment are ignored
---VERTEX SHADER--- // vertex shader starts here
void main(){
...
}
---FRAGMENT SHADER--- // fragment shader starts here
void main(){
...
}
The source property of the Shader should be set to the filename of a glsl shader file (of the above format),
e.g. phong.glsl
class kivy.graphics.shader.Shader
Create a vertex or fragment shader.
Parameters
vs: string, defaults to NoneSource code for vertex shader
fs: string, defaults to NoneSource code for fragment shader
fs
Fragment shader source code.
If you set a new fragment shader code source, it will be automatically compiled and will
replace the current fragment shader.
source
glsl source code.
source should be the filename of a glsl shader that contains both the vertex and fragment
shader sourcecode, each designated by a section header consisting of one line starting with
348
either VERTEX or FRAGMENT (case insensitive).

success
Indicate whether the shader loaded successfully and is ready for usage or not.
vs
Vertex shader source code.
If you set a new vertex shader code source, it will be automatically compiled and will replace
the current vertex shader.
28.14 Stencil instructions

Changed in version 1.3.0: The stencil operation has been updated to resolve some issues that appeared
when nested. You must now have a StencilUnUse and repeat the same operation as you did after
StencilPush.
Stencil instructions permit you to draw and use the current drawing as a mask. They dont give as
much control as pure OpenGL, but you can still do fancy things!
The stencil buffer can be controlled using these 3 instructions:
StencilPush: push a new stencil layer. Any drawing that happens after this will be used as a
mask.
StencilUse : now draw the next instructions and use the stencil for masking them.
StencilUnUse : stop using the stencil i.e. remove the mask and draw normally.
StencilPop : pop the current stencil layer.
You should always respect this scheme:
StencilPush
# PHASE 1: put any drawing instructions to use as a mask here.
StencilUse
# PHASE 2: all the drawing here will be automatically clipped by the
# mask created in PHASE 1.
StencilUnUse
# PHASE 3: drawing instructions wil now be drawn without clipping but the
# mask will still be on the stack. You can return to PHASE 2 at any
# time by issuing another *StencilUse* command.
StencilPop
# PHASE 4: the stencil is now removed from the stack and unloaded.
28.14.1 Limitations
Drawing in PHASE 1 and PHASE 3 must not collide or you will get unexpected results
The stencil is activated as soon as you perform a StencilPush
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The stencil is deactivated as soon as youve correctly popped all the stencil layers
You must not play with stencils yourself between a StencilPush / StencilPop
You can push another stencil after a StencilUse / before the StencilPop
You can push up to 128 layers of stencils (8 for kivy < 1.3.0)
28.14.2 Example of stencil usage

Here is an example, in kv style:
StencilPush
# create a rectangular mask with a pos of (100, 100) and a (100, 100) size.
Rectangle:
pos: 100, 100
size: 100, 100
StencilUse
# we want to show a big green rectangle, however, the previous stencil
# mask will crop us :)
Color:
rgb: 0, 1, 0
Rectangle:
size: 900, 900
StencilUnUse
# you must redraw the stencil mask to remove it
Rectangle:
pos: 100, 100
size: 100, 100
StencilPop
class kivy.graphics.stencil_instructions.StencilPush
Push the stencil stack. See the module documentation for more information.
class kivy.graphics.stencil_instructions.StencilPop
Pop the stencil stack. See the module documentation for more information.
class kivy.graphics.stencil_instructions.StencilUse
Use current stencil buffer as a mask. Check the module documentation for more information.
func_op
Determine the stencil operation to use for glStencilFunc(). Can be one of never, less,
equal, lequal, greater, notequal, gequal or always.
By default, the operator is set to equal.
class kivy.graphics.stencil_instructions.StencilUnUse
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Use current stencil buffer to unset the mask.
28.15 Tesselator
Warning: This is experimental and subject to change as long as this warning notice is present. Only
TYPE_POLYGONS is currently supported.
Tesselator is a library for tesselating polygons, based on libtess2. It renders concave filled polygons by
first tesselating them into convex polygons. It also supports holes.
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28.15.1 Usage
First, you need to create a Tesselator object and add contours. The first one is the external contour
of your shape and all of the following ones should be holes:
from kivy.graphics.tesselator import Tesselator
tess = Tesselator()
tess.add_contour([0, 0, 200, 0, 200, 200, 0, 200])
tess.add_contour([50, 50, 150, 50, 150, 150, 50, 150])
Second, call the Tesselator.tesselate() method to compute the points. It is possible that the
tesselator wont work. In that case, it can return False:
if not tess.tesselate():
print "Tesselator didn't work :("
return
After the tesselation, you have multiple ways to iterate over the result. The best approach is using
Tesselator.meshes to get a format directly usable for a Mesh:
for vertices, indices in tess.meshes:
self.canvas.add(Mesh(
vertices=vertices,
indices=indices,
mode="triangle_fan"
))
Or, you can get the raw

Tesselator.vertices():
result,
with
just
polygons
and
x/y
coordinates
with
for vertices in tess.vertices:

print "got polygon", vertices
class kivy.graphics.tesselator.Tesselator
Tesselator class. See module for more informations about the usage.
add_contour()
Add a contour to the tesselator. It can be:
a list of [x, y, x2, y2, ...] coordinates
a float array: array(f, [x, y, x2, y2, ...])
any buffer with floats in it.
element_count
Returns the number of convex polygon.
meshes
Iterate through the result of the tesselate() to give a result that can be easily pushed into
Kivys Mesh object.
Its a list of: [[vertices, indices], [vertices, indices], ...]. The vertices in the format [x, y, u, v, x2,
y2, u2, v2].
Careful, u/v coordinates are the same as x/y. You are responsible to change them for texture
mapping if you need to.
You can create Mesh objects like that:
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tess = Tesselator()
# add contours here
tess.tesselate()
for vertices, indices in self.meshes:
self.canvas.add(Mesh(
vertices=vertices,
indices=indices,
mode="triangle_fan"))
tesselate()
Compute all the contours added with add_contour(), and generate polygons.
Parameters
winding_rule (enum) The winding rule classifies a region as inside if its winding number belongs to the chosen category.
Can be one of WINDING_ODD, WINDING_NONZERO, WINDING_POSITIVE, WINDING_NEGATIVE,
WINDING_ABS_GEQ_TWO. Defaults to WINDING_ODD.
element_type (enum) The result type, you can generate
the polygons with TYPE_POLYGONS, or the contours with
TYPE_BOUNDARY_CONTOURS. Defaults to TYPE_POLYGONS.
Returns1 if the tesselation happenned, 0 otherwise.
Return typeint
vertex_count
Returns the number of vertex generated.
This is the raw result, however, because the Tesselator format the result for you with meshes
or vertices per polygon, youll have more vertices in the result
vertices
Iterate through the result of the tesselate() in order to give only a list of [x, y, x2, y2, ...]
polygons.
28.16 Texture
Changed in version 1.6.0: Added support for paletted texture on OES: palette4_rgb8, palette4_rgba8,
palette4_r5_g6_b5,
palette4_rgba4,
palette4_rgb5_a1,
palette8_rgb8,
palette8_rgba8,
palette8_r5_g6_b5, palette8_rgba4 and palette8_rgb5_a1.
Texture is a class that handles OpenGL textures. Depending on the hardware, some OpenGL capabilities might not be available (BGRA support, NPOT support, etc.)
You cannot instanciate this class yourself. You must use the function Texture.create() to create a
new texture:
texture = Texture.create(size=(640, 480))
When you create a texture, you should be aware of the default color and buffer format:
the color/pixel format (Texture.colorfmt) that can be one of rgb, rgba, luminance, luminance_alpha, bgr or bgra. The default value is rgb
the buffer format determines how a color component is stored into memory. This can be one of
ubyte, ushort, uint, byte, short, int or float. The default value and the most commonly
used is ubyte.
So, if you want to create an RGBA texture:
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texture = Texture.create(size=(640, 480), colorfmt='rgba')
You
can
use
your
texture
in
almost
all
vertex
instructions
with
the
kivy.graphics.VertexIntruction.texture parameter. If you want to use your texture
in kv lang, you can save it in an ObjectProperty inside your widget.
28.16.1 Blitting custom data

You can create your own data and blit it to the texture using Texture.blit_buffer().
For example, to blit immutable bytes data:
# create a 64x64 texture, defaults to rgb / ubyte
texture = Texture.create(size=(64, 64))
# create 64x64
# we'll have a
size = 64 * 64
buf = [int(x *
rgb tab, and fill with values from 0 to 255

gradient from black to white
* 3
255 / size) for x in range(size)]
# then, convert the array to a ubyte string

buf = b''.join(map(chr, buf))
# then blit the buffer
texture.blit_buffer(buf, colorfmt='rgb', bufferfmt='ubyte')
# that's all ! you can use it in your graphics now :)
# if self is a widget, you can do this
with self.canvas:
Rectangle(texture=texture, pos=self.pos, size=(64, 64))
Since 1.9.0, you can blit data stored in a instance that implements the python buffer interface, or a
memoryview thereof, such as numpy arrays, python array.array, a bytearray, or a cython array. This is
beneficial if you expect to blit similar data, with perhaps a few changes in the data.
When using a bytes representation of the data, for every change you have to regenerate the bytes instance, from perhaps a list, which is very inefficient. When using a buffer object, you can simply edit
parts of the original data. Similarly, unless starting with a bytes object, converting to bytes requires a
full copy, however, when using a buffer instance, no memory is copied, except to upload it to the GPU.
Continuing with the example above:
from array import array
size = 64 * 64 * 3
buf = [int(x * 255 / size) for x in range(size)]
# initialize the array with the buffer values
arr = array('B', buf)
# now blit the array
texture.blit_buffer(arr, colorfmt='rgb', bufferfmt='ubyte')
# now change some elements in the original array
arr[24] = arr[50] = 99
# blit again the buffer
texture.blit_buffer(arr, colorfmt='rgb', bufferfmt='ubyte')
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28.16.2 BGR/BGRA support

The first time you try to create a BGR or BGRA texture, we check whether your hardware supports BGR
/ BGRA textures by checking the extension GL_EXT_bgra.
If the extension is not found, the conversion to RGB / RGBA will be done in software.
28.16.3 NPOT texture

Changed in version 1.0.7: If your hardware supports NPOT, no POT is created.
As the OpenGL documentation says, a texture must be power-of-two sized. That means your width
and height can be one of 64, 32, 256... but not 3, 68, 42. NPOT means non-power-of-two. OpenGL ES 2
supports NPOT textures natively but with some drawbacks. Another type of NPOT texture is called a
rectangle texture. POT, NPOT and textures all have their own pro/cons.
Features
OpenGL
Target
Texture
coords
Mipmapping
Wrap mode
POT
NPOT
Rectangle
GL_TEXTURE_2D GL_TEXTURE_2D GL_TEXTURE_RECTANGLE_(NV|ARB|EXT)
0-1 range
0-1 range
width-height range
Supported
Supported
Partially
Supported
No
No
If you create a NPOT texture, we first check whether your hardware supports it by checking the extensions GL_ARB_texture_non_power_of_two or OES_texture_npot. If none of these are available, we
create the nearest POT texture that can contain your NPOT texture. The Texture.create() will
return a TextureRegion instead.
28.16.4 Texture atlas

A texture atlas is a single texture that contains many images. If you want to seperate the original texture
into many single ones, you dont need to. You can get a region of the original texture. That will return
the original texture with custom texture coordinates:
# for example, load a 128x128 image that contain 4 64x64 images
texture = Image('mycombinedimage.png').texture
bottomleft = texture.get_region(0, 0, 64, 64)
bottomright = texture.get_region(0, 64, 64, 64)
topleft = texture.get_region(0, 64, 64, 64)
topright = texture.get_region(64, 64, 64, 64)
28.16.5 Mipmapping
Mipmapping is an OpenGL technique for enhancing the rendering of large textures to small surfaces.
Without mipmapping, you might see pixelation when you render to small surfaces. The idea is to
precalculate the subtexture and apply some image filter as a linear filter. Then, when you render a
small surface, instead of using the biggest texture, it will use a lower filtered texture. The result can
look better this way.
To make that happen, you need to specify mipmap=True when you create a texture. Some widgets
already give you the ability to create mipmapped textures, such as the Label and Image.
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From the OpenGL Wiki : So a 64x16 2D texture can have 5 mip-maps: 32x8, 16x4, 8x2, 4x1, 2x1, and
1x1. Check http://www.opengl.org/wiki/Texture for more information.
Note: As the table in previous section said, if your texture is NPOT, we create the nearest POT texture
and generate a mipmap from it. This might change in the future.
28.16.6 Reloading the Texture

If the OpenGL context is lost, the Texture must be reloaded. Textures that have a source are automatically reloaded but generated textures must be reloaded by the user.
Use the Texture.add_reload_observer() to add a reloading function that will be automatically
called when needed:
super(...).__init__(**kwargs)
self.texture = Texture.create(size=(512, 512), colorfmt='RGB',
bufferfmt='ubyte')
self.texture.add_reload_observer(self.populate_texture)
# and load the data now.
self.cbuffer = '\x00\xf0\xff' * 512 * 512
self.populate_texture(self.texture)
def populate_texture(self, texture):
texture.blit_buffer(self.cbuffer)
This way, you can use the same method for initialization and reloading.
Note: For all text rendering with our core text renderer, the texture is generated but we already bind a
method to redo the text rendering and reupload the text to the texture. You dont have to do anything.
class kivy.graphics.texture.Texture
Handle an OpenGL texture. This class can be used to create simple textures or complex textures
based on ImageData.
you can reupload your custom data into the GPU.
Parameters
callback: func(context) -> return NoneThe first parameter will be the context itself.
ask_update()
Indicate that the content of the texture should be updated and the callback function needs
to be called when the texture will be used.
bind()
Bind the texture to the current opengl state.
blit_buffer()
Blit a buffer into the texture.
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Note: Unless the canvas will be updated due to other changes, ask_update() should be
called in order to update the texture.
Parameters
pbuffer[bytes, or a class that implements the buffer interface (including
memoryview).] A buffer containing the image data. It can be either a bytes object or a instance of a class that implements the python
buffer interface, e.g. array.array, bytearray, numpy arrays etc. If its
not a bytes object, the underlying buffer must be contiguous, have
only one dimension and must not be readonly, even though the data
is not modified, due to a cython limitation. See module description
for usage details.
size[tuple, defaults to texture size] Size of the image (width, height)
colorfmt[str, defaults to rgb] Image format, can be one of rgb, rgba,
bgr, bgra, luminance or luminance_alpha.
pos[tuple, defaults to (0, 0)] Position to blit in the texture.
bufferfmt[str, defaults to ubyte] Type of the data buffer, can be one of
ubyte, ushort, uint, byte, short, int or float.
mipmap_level: int, defaults to 0Indicate which mipmap level we are going
to update.
mipmap_generation: bool, defaults to TrueIndicate if we need to regenerate the mipmap from level 0.
Changed in version 1.0.7: added mipmap_level and mipmap_generation
Changed in version 1.9.0: pbuffer can now be any class instance that implements the python
buffer interface and / or memoryviews thereof.
blit_data()
Replace a whole texture with image data.
bufferfmt
Return the buffer format used in this texture (readonly).
colorfmt
Return the color format used in this texture (readonly).
static create()
Create a texture based on size.
Parameters
size: tuple, defaults to (128, 128)Size of the texture.
colorfmt: str, defaults to rgbaColor format of the texture. Can be rgba
or rgb, luminance or luminance_alpha. On desktop, additionnal
values are available: red, rg.
icolorfmt: str, defaults to the value of colorfmtInternal format storage of
the texture. Can be rgba or rgb, luminance or luminance_alpha.
On desktop, additionnal values are available: r8, rg8, rgba8.
bufferfmt: str, defaults to ubyteInternal buffer format of the texture. Can
be ubyte, ushort, uint, bute, short, int or float.
mipmap: bool, defaults to FalseIf True, it will automatically generate the
mipmap texture.
callback: callable(), defaults to FalseIf a function is provided, it will be
called when data is needed in the texture.
Changed in version 1.7.0: callback has been added
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static create_from_data()
Create a texture from an ImageData class.
flip_horizontal()
Flip tex_coords for horizontal display.
flip_vertical()
Flip tex_coords for vertical display.
get_region()
Return a part of the texture defined by the rectangular arguments (x, y, width, height). Returns a TextureRegion instance.
height
Return the height of the texture (readonly).
id
Return the OpenGL ID of the texture (readonly).
mag_filter
Get/set the mag filter texture. Available values:
linear
nearest
Check the opengl documentation for more information about the behavior of these values :
http://www.khronos.org/opengles/sdk/docs/man/xhtml/glTexParameter.xml.
min_filter
Get/set the min filter texture. Available values:
linear
nearest
linear_mipmap_linear
linear_mipmap_nearest
nearest_mipmap_nearest
nearest_mipmap_linear
mipmap
Return True if the texture has mipmap enabled (readonly).
pixels
bottom left.
save()
Save the texture content to a file. Check kivy.core.image.Image.save() for more
information.
The flipped parameter flips the saved image vertically, and defaults to True.
Changed in version 1.8.0: Parameter flipped added, defaults to True. All the OpenGL Texture
are readed from bottom / left, it need to be flipped before saving. If you dont want to flip
the image, set flipped to False.
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size
Return the (width, height) of the texture (readonly).
target
Return the OpenGL target of the texture (readonly).
tex_coords
Return the list of tex_coords (opengl).
uvpos
Get/set the UV position inside the texture.
uvsize
Get/set the UV size inside the texture.
Warning: The size can be negative if the texture is flipped.
width
Return the width of the texture (readonly).
wrap
Get/set the wrap texture. Available values:
repeat
mirrored_repeat
clamp_to_edge
class kivy.graphics.texture.TextureRegion
Bases: kivy.graphics.texture.Texture
Handle a region of a Texture class. Useful for non power-of-2 texture handling.
28.17 Transformation
This module contains a Matrix class used for our Graphics calculations. We currently support:
rotation, translation and scaling matrices
multiplication matrix
clip matrix (with or without perspective)
transformation matrix for 3d touch
For more information on transformation matrices, please see the OpenGL Matrices Tutorial.
Changed in version 1.6.0:
Matrix.transpose().
Added
Matrix.perspective(),
Matrix.look_at()
and
class kivy.graphics.transformation.Matrix
Optimized matrix class for OpenGL:
>>> from kivy.graphics.transformation import Matrix
>>> m = Matrix()
>>> print(m)
[[ 1.000000 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 ]
[ 0.000000 1.000000 0.000000 0.000000 ]
[ 0.000000 0.000000 1.000000 0.000000 ]
[ 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 1.000000 ]]
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[
[
[
[
0
4
8
12
1
2
3]
5
6
7]
9 10 11]
13 14 15]
get()
Retrieve the value of the current as a flat list.
identity()
Reset the matrix to the identity matrix (inplace).
inverse()
Return the inverse of the matrix as a new Matrix.
look_at()
Returns a new lookat Matrix (similar to gluLookAt).
Parameters
eyex: floatEyes X co-ordinate
eyey: floatEyes Y co-ordinate
eyez: floatEyes Z co-ordinate
centerx: floatThe X position of the reference point
centery: floatThe Y position of the reference point
centerz: floatThe Z position of the reference point
upx: floatThe X value up vector.
upy: floatThe Y value up vector.
upz: floatThe Z value up vector.
multiply()
Multiply the given matrix with self (from the left) i.e. we premultiply the given matrix by
the current matrix and return the result (not inplace):
m.multiply(n) -> n * m
Parameters
ma: MatrixThe matrix to multiply by
normal_matrix()
Computes the normal matrix, which is the inverse transpose of the top left 3x3 modelview
matrix used to transform normals into eye/camera space.
perspective()
Creates a perspective matrix (inplace).
Parameters
fovy: floatField Of View angle
aspect: floatAspect ratio
zNear: floatNear clipping plane
zFar: floatFar clippin plane
project()
Project a point from 3d space into a 2d viewport.
Parameters
objx: floatPoints X co-ordinate
objy: floatPoints Y co-ordinate
objz: floatPoints Z co-ordinate
360
model: MatrixThe model matrix

proj: MatrixThe projection matrix
vx: floatViewports X co-ordinate
vy: floatViewports y co-ordinate
vw: floatViewports width
vh: floatViewports height
rotate()
Rotate the matrix through the angle around the axis (x, y, z) (inplace).
Parameters
angle: floatThe angle through which to rotate the matrix
x: floatX position of the point
y: floatY position of the point
z: floatZ position of the point
scale()
Scale the current matrix by the specified factors over each dimension (inplace).
Parameters
x: floatThe scale factor along the X axis
y: floatThe scale factor along the Y axis
z: floatThe scale factor along the Z axis
set()
Insert custom values into the matrix in a flat list format or 4x4 array format like below
m.set(array=[[1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0], [0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0], [0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0], [0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0]])
tolist()
Retrieve the value of the current matrix in numpy format. for example m.tolist() will return
[[1.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000], [0.000000, 1.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000],
[0.000000, 0.000000, 1.000000, 0.000000], [0.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000, 1.000000]]
you can use this format to plug the result straight into numpy in this way
numpy.array(m.get())
translate()
Translate the matrix.
Parameters
x: floatThe translation factor along the X axis
y: floatThe translation factor along the Y axis
z: floatThe translation factor along the Z axis
transpose()
Return the transposed matrix as a new Matrix.
view_clip()
Create a clip matrix (inplace).
Parameters
left: floatCo-ordinate
right: floatCo-ordinate
bottom: floatCo-ordinate
top: floatCo-ordinate
near: floatCo-ordinate
far: floatCo-ordinate
perpective: intCo-ordinate
Changed in version 1.6.0: Enable support for perspective parameter.
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28.18 Vertex Instructions

This module includes all the classes for drawing simple vertex objects.
28.18.1 Updating properties

The list attributes of the graphics instruction classes (e.g. Triangle.points, Mesh.indices etc.)
are not Kivy properties but Python properties. As a consequence, the graphics will only be updated
when the list object itself is changed and not when list values are modified.
For example in python:
class MyWidget(Button):
triangle = ObjectProperty(None)
with self.canvas:
self.triangle = Triangle(points=[0,0, 100,100, 200,0])
and in kv:
<MyWidget>:
text: 'Update'
on_press:
self.triangle.points[3] = 400
Although pressing the button will change the triangle coordinates, the graphics will not be updated
because the list itself has not changed. Similarly, no updates will occur using any syntax that changes
only elements of the list e.g. self.triangle.points[0:2] = [10,10] or self.triangle.points.insert(10) etc. To
force an update after a change, the list variable itself must be changed, which in this case can be achieved
with:
<MyWidget>:
text: 'Update'
on_press:
self.triangle.points[3] = 400
self.triangle.points = self.triangle.points
class kivy.graphics.vertex_instructions.Triangle
A 2d triangle.
Parameters
points: listList of points in the format (x1, y1, x2, y2, x3, y3).
points
Property for getting/settings points of the triangle.
class kivy.graphics.vertex_instructions.Quad
A 2d quad.
Parameters
points: listList of point in the format (x1, y1, x2, y2, x3, y3, x4, y4).
points
Property for getting/settings points of the quad.
362
class kivy.graphics.vertex_instructions.Rectangle
A 2d rectangle.
Parameters
pos: listPosition of the rectangle, in the format (x, y).
size: listSize of the rectangle, in the format (width, height).
pos
Property for getting/settings the position of the rectangle.
size
Property for getting/settings the size of the rectangle.
class kivy.graphics.vertex_instructions.RoundedRectangle
A 2D rounded rectangle.
Parameters
segments: int, defaults to 10Define how many segments are needed for drawing
the round corner. The drawing will be smoother if you have many segments.
radius: list, defaults to [(10.0, 10.0), (10.0, 10.0), (10.0, 10.0), (10.0, 10.0)]Specifies
the radiuses of the round corners clockwise: top-left, top-right, bottomright, bottom-left. Elements of the list can be numbers or tuples of two
numbers to specify different x,y dimensions. One value will define all
corner dimensions to that value. Four values will define dimensions for
each corner separately. Higher number of values will be truncated to
four. The first value will be used for all corners, if there is fewer than four
values.
radius
Corner radiuses of the rounded rectangle, defaults to [10,].
segments
Property for getting/setting the number of segments for each corner.
class kivy.graphics.vertex_instructions.BorderImage
A 2d border image. The behavior of the border image is similar to the concept of a CSS3 borderimage.
Parameters
border: listBorder information in the format (top, right, bottom, left). Each value
is in pixels.
auto_scale: boolNew in version 1.9.1.
If the BorderImages size is less than the sum of its borders, horizontally
or vertically, and this property is set to True, the borders will be rescaled to
accomodate for the smaller size.
auto_scale
Property for setting if the corners are automatically scaled when the BorderImage is too
small.
border
Property for getting/setting the border of the class.
display_border
Property for getting/setting the border display size.
class kivy.graphics.vertex_instructions.Ellipse
363
A 2D ellipse.
Changed in version 1.0.7: Added angle_start and angle_end.
Parameters
segments: int, defaults to 180Define how many segments are needed for drawing the ellipse. The drawing will be smoother if you have many segments.
angle_start: int, defaults to 0Specifies the starting angle, in degrees, of the disk
portion.
angle_end: int, defaults to 360Specifies the ending angle, in degrees, of the disk
portion.
angle_end
End angle of the ellipse in degrees, defaults to 360.
angle_start
Start angle of the ellipse in degrees, defaults to 0.
segments
Property for getting/setting the number of segments of the ellipse.
class kivy.graphics.vertex_instructions.Line
A 2d line.
Drawing a line can be done easily:
with self.canvas:
Line(points=[100, 100, 200, 100, 100, 200], width=10)
The line has 3 internal drawing modes that you should be aware of for optimal results:
1.If the width is 1.0, then the standard GL_LINE drawing from OpenGL will be used.
dash_length and dash_offset will work, while properties for cap and joint have no
meaning here.
2.If the width is greater than 1.0, then a custom drawing method, based on triangulation, will
be used. dash_length and dash_offset do not work in this mode. Additionally, if the
current color has an alpha less than 1.0, a stencil will be used internally to draw the line.
364
Parameters
dash_offset: intOffset between the end of a segment and the begining of the next
width: floatWidth of the line, defaults to 1.0.
cap: str, defaults to roundSee cap for more information.
joint: str, defaults to roundSee joint for more information.
cap_precision: int, defaults to 10See cap_precision for more information
joint_precision: int, defaults to 10See joint_precision for more information
See cap_precision for more information.
joint_precision: int, defaults to 10See joint_precision for more information.
close: bool, defaults to FalseIf True, the line will be closed.
circle: listIf set, the points will be set to build a circle. See circle for more
information.
ellipse: listIf set, the points will be set to build an ellipse. See ellipse for
more information.
rectangle: listIf set, the points will be set to build a rectangle. See rectangle
bezier: listIf set, the points will be set to build a bezier line. See bezier for
more information.
bezier_precision: int, defaults to 180Precision of the Bezier drawing.
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Changed in version 1.0.8: dash_offset and dash_length have been added.

Changed in version 1.4.1: width, cap, joint, cap_precision, joint_precision, close, ellipse, rectangle have
been added.
Changed in version 1.4.1: bezier, bezier_precision have been added.
bezier
Use this property to build a bezier line, without calculating the points. You can only set
this property, not get it.
The argument must be a tuple of 2n elements, n being the number of points.
Usage:
Line(bezier=(x1, y1, x2, y2, x3, y3)

Note: Bezier lines calculations are inexpensive for a low number of points, but complexity
is quadratic, so lines with a lot of points can be very expensive to build, use with care!
bezier_precision
Number of iteration for drawing the bezier between 2 segments, defaults to 180. The
bezier_precision must be at least 1.
cap
Determine the cap of the line, defaults to round. Can be one of none, square or round
cap_precision
Number of iteration for drawing the round cap, defaults to 10. The cap_precision must be
at least 1.
circle
Use this property to build a circle, without calculate the points. You can only set this
The argument must be a tuple of (center_x, center_y, radius, angle_start, angle_end, segments):
center_x and center_y represent the center of the circle
radius represent the radius of the circle
Note that its up to you to close the circle or not.
# simple circle
Line(circle=(150, 150, 50))
Line(circle=(150, 150, 50, 90, 180))
Line(circle=(150, 150, 50, 90, 180, 20))
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close
If True, the line will be closed.
dash_length
Property for getting/setting the length of the dashes in the curve
dash_offset
Property for getting/setting the offset between the dashes in the curve
ellipse
Use this property to build an ellipse, without calculating the points. You can only set this
The argument must be a tuple of (x, y, width, height, angle_start, angle_end, segments):
x and y represent the bottom left of the ellipse
width and height represent the size of the ellipse
Note that its up to you to close the ellipse or not.
# simple ellipse
Line(ellipse=(0, 0, 150, 150))
Line(ellipse=(0, 0, 150, 150, 90, 180))
Line(ellipse=(0, 0, 150, 150, 90, 180, 20))

joint
Determine the join of the line, defaults to round. Can be one of none, round, bevel,
miter.
joint_precision
Number of iteration for drawing the round joint, defaults to 10. The joint_precision must
be at least 1.
points
Property for getting/settings points of the line
Warning: This will always reconstruct the whole graphics from the new points list. It
can be very CPU expensive.
rectangle
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The argument must be a tuple of (x, y, width, height) angle_end, segments):

Usage:
Line(rectangle=(0, 0, 200, 200))

rounded_rectangle
The argument must be a tuple of one of the following forms:
(x, y, width, height, corner_radius)
(x, y, width, height, corner_radius, resolution)
(x, y, width, height, corner_radius1, corner_radius2, corner_radius3, corner_radius4)
(x, y, width, height, corner_radius1, corner_radius2, corner_radius3, corner_radius4,
resolution)
corner_radius is the number of pixels between two borders and the center of the circle
arc joining them
resolution is the numper of line segment that will be used to draw the circle arc at each
corner (defaults to 30)
Usage:
Line(rounded_rectangle=(0, 0, 200, 200, 10, 20, 30, 40, 100))

width
Determine the width of the line, defaults to 1.0.
class kivy.graphics.vertex_instructions.Point
A list of 2d points. Each point is represented as a square with a width/height of 2 times the
pointsize.
Parameters
points: listList of points in the format (x1, y1, x2, y2...), where each pair of coordinates specifies the center of a new point.
pointsize: float, defaults to 1.The size of the point, measured from the center to
the edge. A value of 1.0 therefore means the real size will be 2.0 x 2.0.
Warning: Starting from version 1.0.7, vertex instruction have a limit of 65535 vertices (indices
of vertex to be accurate). 2 entries in the list (x, y) will be converted to 4 vertices. So the limit
inside Point() class is 2^15-2.
add_point()
Add a point to the current points list.
If you intend to add multiple points, prefer to use this method instead of reassigning a new
points list. Assigning a new points list will recalculate and reupload the whole buffer
into the GPU. If you use add_point, it will only upload the changes.
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points
Property for getting/settings the center points in the points list. Each pair of coordinates
specifies the center of a new point.
pointsize
Property for getting/setting point size. The size is measured from the center to the edge, so
a value of 1.0 means the real size will be 2.0 x 2.0.
class kivy.graphics.vertex_instructions.Mesh
A 2d mesh.
In OpenGL ES 2.0 and in our graphics implementation, you cannot have more than 65535 indices.
A list of vertices is described as:
vertices = [x1, y1, u1, v1, x2, y2, u2, v2, ...]
|
| |
|
+---- i1 ----+ +---- i2 ----+
If you want to draw a triangle, add 3 vertices. You can then make an indices list as follows:
indices = [0, 1, 2]
Parameters
vertices: listList of vertices in the format (x1, y1, u1, v1, x2, y2, u2, v2...).
indices: listList of indices in the format (i1, i2, i3...).
mode: strMode of the vbo. Check mode for more information. Defaults to
points.
fmt: listThe format for vertices, by default, each vertex is described by 2D coordinates (x, y) and 2D texture coordinate (u, v). Each element of the list
should be a tuple or list, of the form
(variable_name, size, type)
which will allow mapping vertex data to the glsl instructions.
[(bv_pos, 2, bfloat), (bv_tc, 2, bfloat),]
will allow using
attribute vec2 v_pos; attribute vec2 v_tc;
in glsls vertex shader.
indices
Vertex indices used to specify the order when drawing the mesh.
mode
VBO Mode used for drawing vertices/indices. Can be one of points, line_strip,
line_loop, lines, triangles, triangle_strip or triangle_fan.
vertices
List of x, y, u, v coordinates used to construct the Mesh. Right now, the Mesh instruction
doesnt allow you to change the format of the vertices, which means its only x, y + one
texture coordinate.
exception kivy.graphics.vertex_instructions.GraphicException
Bases: Exception
Exception raised when a graphics error is fired.
class kivy.graphics.vertex_instructions.Bezier
A 2d Bezier curve.
Parameters
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segments: int, defaults to 180Define how many segments are needed for drawing the curve. The drawing will be smoother if you have many segments.
loop: bool, defaults to FalseSet the bezier curve to join the last point to the first.
dash_offset: intDistance between the end of a segment and the start of the next
dash_length
Property for getting/setting the length of the dashes in the curve.
dash_offset
Property for getting/setting the offset between the dashes in the curve.
points
Property for getting/settings the points of the triangle.
Warning: This will always reconstruct the whole graphic from the new points list. It can
be very CPU intensive.
segments
Property for getting/setting the number of segments of the curve.
class kivy.graphics.vertex_instructions.SmoothLine
Bases: kivy.graphics.vertex_instructions.Line
Experimental line using over-draw methods to get better anti-aliasing results. It has few drawbacks:
drawing a line with alpha will probably not have the intended result if the line crosses itself.
cap, joint and dash properties are not supported.
it uses a custom texture with a premultiplied alpha.
lines under 1px in width are not supported: they will look the same.
Warning: This is an unfinished work, experimental, and subject to crashes.
overdraw_width
Determine the overdraw width of the line, defaults to 1.2.
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CHAPTER
TWENTYNINE
INPUT MANAGEMENT
Our input system is wide and simple at the same time. We are currently able to natively support :
Windows multitouch events (pencil and finger)
OS X touchpads
Linux multitouch events (kernel and mtdev)
Linux wacom drivers (pencil and finger)
TUIO
All the input management is configurable in the Kivy config. You can easily use many multitouch
devices in one Kivy application.
When the events have been read from the devices, they are dispatched through a post processing module before being sent to your application. We also have several default modules for :
Double tap detection
Decreasing jittering
Decreasing the inaccuracy of touch on bad DIY hardware
Ignoring regions
class kivy.input.MotionEvent(device, id, args)
Bases: kivy.input.motionevent.MotionEvent
Abstract class that represents an input event (touch or non-touch).
Parameters
id[str] unique ID of the MotionEvent
args[list] list of parameters, passed to the depack() function
apply_transform_2d(transform)
Apply a transformation on x, y, z, px, py, pz, ox, oy, oz, dx, dy, dz
copy_to(to)
Copy some attribute to another touch object.
depack(args)
Depack args into attributes of the class
distance(other_touch)
Return the distance between the current touch and another touch.
dpos
Return delta between last position and current position, in the screen coordinate system
(self.dx, self.dy)
grab(class_instance, exclusive=False)
Grab this motion event. You can grab a touch if you want to receive subsequent
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on_touch_move() and on_touch_up() events, even if the touch is not dispatched by

the parent:
touch.grab(self)
# I received my grabbed touch
else:
# it's a normal touch
# I receive my grabbed touch, I must ungrab it!
touch.ungrab(self)
else:
pass
is_mouse_scrolling
Returns True if the touch is a mousewheel scrolling
move(args)
Move the touch to another position
opos
Return the initial position of the touch in the screen coordinate system (self.ox, self.oy)
pop()
Pop attributes values from the stack
ppos
Return the previous position of the touch in the screen coordinate system (self.px, self.py)
push(attrs=None)
Push attribute values in attrs onto the stack
scale_for_screen(w, h, p=None, rotation=0, smode=None, kheight=0)
Scale position for the screen
spos
Return the position in the 0-1 coordinate system (self.sx, self.sy)
ungrab(class_instance)
Ungrab a previously grabbed touch
class kivy.input.MotionEventProvider(device, args)
Base class for a provider.
start()
Start the provider. This method is automatically called when the application is started and
if the configuration uses the current provider.
stop()
Stop the provider.
update(dispatch_fn)
Update the provider and dispatch all the new touch events though the dispatch_fn argument.
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class kivy.input.MotionEventFactory
MotionEvent factory is a class that registers all availables input factories. If you create a new input
factory, you need to register it here:
MotionEventFactory.register('myproviderid', MyInputProvider)
static get(name)
Get a provider class from the provider id
static list()
Get a list of all available providers
static register(name, classname)
Register a input provider in the database
29.1 Input Postprocessing

29.1.1 Calibration
Recalibrate input device to a specific range / offset.
Lets say you have 3 1080p displays, the 2 firsts are multitouch. By default, both will have mixed touch,
the range will conflict with each others: the 0-1 range will goes to 0-5760 px (remember, 3 * 1920 = 5760.)
To fix it, you need to manually reference them. For example:
[input]
left = mtdev,/dev/input/event17
middle = mtdev,/dev/input/event15
# the right screen is just a display.
Then, you can use the calibration postproc module:

[postproc:calibration]
left = xratio=0.3333
middle = xratio=0.3333,xoffset=0.3333
Now, the touches from the left screen will be within 0-0.3333 range, and the touches from the middle
screen will be within 0.3333-0.6666 range.
class kivy.input.postproc.calibration.InputPostprocCalibration
Recalibrate the inputs.
The configuration must go within a section named postproc:calibration. Within the section, you
must have line like:
devicename = param=value,param=value
Parameters
xratio: floatValue to multiply X
yratio: floatValue to multiply Y
xoffset: floatValue to add to X
yoffset: floatValue to add to Y
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29.1.2 Dejitter
Prevent blob jittering.
A problem that is often faced (esp. in optical MT setups) is that of jitterish BLOBs caused by bad camera
characteristics. With this module you can get rid of that jitter. You just define a threshold jitter_distance
in your config, and all touch movements that move the touch by less than the jitter distance are considered bad movements caused by jitter and will be discarded.
class kivy.input.postproc.dejitter.InputPostprocDejitter
Get rid of jitterish BLOBs. Example:
[postproc]
jitter_distance = 0.004
jitter_ignore_devices = mouse,mactouch
Configuration
jitter_distance: floatA float in range 0-1.
jitter_ignore_devices: stringA comma-seperated list of device identifiers that
should not be processed by dejitter (because theyre very precise already).
29.1.3 Double Tap

Search touch for a double tap
class kivy.input.postproc.doubletap.InputPostprocDoubleTap
InputPostProcDoubleTap is a post-processor to check if a touch is a double tap or not. Double tap
can be configured in the Kivy config file:
[postproc]
double_tap_time = 250
double_tap_distance = 20
Distance parameter is in the range 0-1000 and time is in milliseconds.

find_double_tap(ref )
Find a double tap touch within self.touches. The touch must be not a previous double tap
and the distance must be within the specified threshold. Additionally, the touch profiles
must be the same kind of touch.
29.1.4 Ignore list

Ignore touch on some areas of the screen
class kivy.input.postproc.ignorelist.InputPostprocIgnoreList
InputPostprocIgnoreList is a post-processor which removes touches in the Ignore list. The Ignore
list can be configured in the Kivy config file:
[postproc]
# Format: [(xmin, ymin, xmax, ymax), ...]
ignore = [(0.1, 0.1, 0.15, 0.15)]
The Ignore list coordinates are in the range 0-1, not in screen pixels.
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29.1.5 Retain Touch

Reuse touch to counter lost finger behavior
class kivy.input.postproc.retaintouch.InputPostprocRetainTouch
InputPostprocRetainTouch is a post-processor to delay the up event of a touch, to reuse it under certains conditions. This module is designed to prevent lost finger touches on some hardware/setups.
Retain touch can be configured in the Kivy config file:
[postproc]
retain_time = 100
retain_distance = 50
The distance parameter is in the range 0-1000 and time is in milliseconds.
29.1.6 Triple Tap

Search touch for a triple tap
class kivy.input.postproc.tripletap.InputPostprocTripleTap
InputPostProcTripleTap is a post-processor to check if a touch is a triple tap or not. Triple tap can
be configured in the Kivy config file:
[postproc]
triple_tap_time = 250
triple_tap_distance = 20
The distance parameter is in the range 0-1000 and time is in milliseconds.

find_triple_tap(ref )
Find a triple tap touch within self.touches. The touch must be not be a previous triple tap and
the distance must be be within the bounds specified. Additionally, the touch profile must be
the same kind of touch.
29.2 Providers
29.2.1 Auto Create Input Provider Config Entry for Available MT Hardware (linux
only).
Thanks to Marc Tardif for the probing code, taken from scan-for-mt-device.
The device discovery is done by this provider. However, the reading of input can be performed by
other providers like: hidinput, mtdev and linuxwacom. mtdev is used prior to other providers. For
more information about mtdev, check mtdev.
Here is an example of auto creation:
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[input]
# using mtdev
device_%(name)s = probesysfs,provider=mtdev
# using hidinput
device_%(name)s = probesysfs,provider=hidinput
# using mtdev with a match on name
device_%(name)s = probesysfs,provider=mtdev,match=acer
# using hidinput with custom parameters to hidinput (all on one line)
%(name)s = probesysfs,
provider=hidinput,param=min_pressure=1,param=max_pressure=99
# you can also match your wacom touchscreen
touch = probesysfs,match=E3 Finger,provider=linuxwacom,
select_all=1,param=mode=touch
# and your wacom pen
pen = probesysfs,match=E3 Pen,provider=linuxwacom,
select_all=1,param=mode=pen
By default, ProbeSysfs module will enumerate hardware from the /sys/class/input device, and configure hardware with ABS_MT_POSITION_X capability. But for example, the wacom screen doesnt
support this capability. You can prevent this behavior by putting select_all=1 in your config line.
29.2.2 Common definitions for a Windows provider

This file provides common definitions for constants used by WM_Touch / WM_Pen.
29.2.3 Leap Motion - finger only

29.2.4 Mouse provider implementation
On linux systems, the mouse provider can be annoying when used with another multitouch provider
(hidinput or mtdev). The Mouse can conflict with them: a single touch can generate one event from the
mouse provider and another from the multitouch provider.
To avoid this behavior, you can activate the disable_on_activity token in the mouse configuration.
Then, if any touches are created by another provider, the mouse event will be discarded. Add this to
your configuration:
[input]
mouse = mouse,disable_on_activity
Using multitouch interaction with the mouse

By default, the middle and right mouse buttons, as well as a combination of ctrl + left mouse button
are used for multitouch emulation. If you want to use them for other purposes, you can disable this
behavior by activating the disable_multitouch token:
[input]
mouse = mouse,disable_multitouch
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You can now selectively control whether a click initiated as described above will emulate multi-touch.
If the touch has been initiated in the above manner (e.g. right mouse button), a multitouch_sim value
will be added to the touchs profile, and a multitouch_sim property will be added to the touch. By
default, multitouch_sim is True and multitouch will be emulated for that touch. If, however, multitouch_on_demand is added to the config:
[input]
mouse = mouse,multitouch_on_demand
then multitouch_sim defaults to False. In that case, if multitouch_sim is set to True before the mouse is
released (e.g. in on_touch_down/move), the touch will simulate a multi-touch event. For example:
if 'multitouch_sim' in touch.profile:
touch.multitouch_sim = True
Following is a list of the supported values for the profile property list.
Profile value
button
pos
multitouch_sim
Description
Mouse button (one of left, right, middle, scrollup or scrolldown). Accessed via the
button property.
2D position. Also reflected in the x, y and pos properties.
Specifies whether multitouch is simulated or not. Accessed via the
multitouch_sim property.
29.2.5 Native support for HID input from the linux kernel
Support starts from 2.6.32-ubuntu, or 2.6.34.
To configure HIDInput, add this to your configuration:
[input]
# devicename = hidinput,/dev/input/eventXX
# example with Stantum MTP4.3" screen
stantum = hidinput,/dev/input/event2
Note: You must have read access to the input event.

You can use a custom range for the X, Y and pressure values. For some drivers, the range reported is
invalid. To fix that, you can add these options to the argument line:
invert_x : 1 to invert X axis
invert_y : 1 to invert Y axis
min_position_x : X minimum
max_position_x : X maximum
min_position_y : Y minimum
max_position_y : Y maximum
min_pressure : pressure minimum
max_pressure : pressure maximum
rotation : rotate the input coordinate (0, 90, 180, 270)
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For example, on the Asus T101M, the touchscreen reports a range from 0-4095 for the X and Y values, but the real values are in a range from 0-32768. To correct this, you can add the following to the
configuration:
[input]
t101m = hidinput,/dev/input/event7,max_position_x=32768,max_position_y=32768
New in version 1.9.1: rotation configuration token added.
29.2.6 Native support for Multitouch devices on Linux, using libmtdev.

The Mtdev project is a part of the Ubuntu Maverick multitouch architecture. You can read more on
http://wiki.ubuntu.com/Multitouch
To configure MTDev, its preferable to use probesysfs providers. Check probesysfs for more information.
Otherwise, add this to your configuration:
[input]
# devicename = hidinput,/dev/input/eventXX
acert230h = mtdev,/dev/input/event2

You can use a custom range for the X, Y and pressure values. On some drivers, the range reported is
min_touch_major : width shape minimum
max_touch_major : width shape maximum
min_touch_minor : width shape minimum
max_touch_minor : height shape maximum
rotation : 0,90,180 or 270 to rotate
29.2.7 Native support of MultitouchSupport framework for MacBook (MaxOSX platform)

29.2.8 Native support of Wacom tablet from linuxwacom driver
To configure LinuxWacom, add this to your configuration:
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[input]
pen = linuxwacom,/dev/input/event2,mode=pen
finger = linuxwacom,/dev/input/event3,mode=touch

You can use a custom range for the X, Y and pressure values. On some drivers, the range reported is
29.2.9 Support for WM_PEN messages (Windows platform)

class kivy.input.providers.wm_pen.WM_Pen(device, id, args)
MotionEvent representing the WM_Pen event. Supports the pos profile.
29.2.10 Support for WM_TOUCH messages (Windows platform)

class kivy.input.providers.wm_touch.WM_MotionEvent(device, id, args)
MotionEvent representing the WM_MotionEvent event. Supports pos, shape and size profiles.
29.2.11 TUIO Input Provider

TUIO is the de facto standard network protocol for the transmission of touch and fiducial information
between a server and a client. To learn more about TUIO (which is itself based on the OSC protocol),
please refer to http://tuio.org The specification should be of special interest.
Configure a TUIO provider in the config.ini
The TUIO provider can be configured in the configuration file in the [input] section:
[input]
# name = tuio,<ip>:<port>
multitouchtable = tuio,192.168.0.1:3333
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Configure a TUIO provider in the App

You must add the provider before your application is run, like this:
from kivy.config import Config
class TestApp(App):
def build(self):
Config.set('input', 'multitouchscreen1', 'tuio,0.0.0.0:3333')
# You can also add a second TUIO listener
# Config.set('input', 'source2', 'tuio,0.0.0.0:3334')
# Then do the usual things
# ...
return
class kivy.input.providers.tuio.TuioMotionEventProvider(device, args)

Bases: kivy.input.provider.MotionEventProvider
The TUIO provider listens to a socket and handles some of the incoming OSC messages:
/tuio/2Dcur
/tuio/2Dobj
You can easily extend the provider to handle new TUIO paths like so:
# Create a class to handle the new TUIO type/path
# Replace NEWPATH with the pathname you want to handle
class TuioNEWPATHMotionEvent(MotionEvent):
def __init__(self, id, args):
super(TuioNEWPATHMotionEvent, self).__init__(id, args)
def depack(self, args):
# In this method, implement 'unpacking' for the received
# arguments. you basically translate from TUIO args to Kivy
# MotionEvent variables. If all you receive are x and y
# values, you can do it like this:
if len(args) == 2:
self.sx, self.sy = args
self.profile = ('pos', )
self.sy = 1 - self.sy
super(TuioNEWPATHMotionEvent, self).depack(args)
# Register it with the TUIO MotionEvent provider.
# You obviously need to replace the PATH placeholders appropriately.
TuioMotionEventProvider.register('/tuio/PATH', TuioNEWPATHMotionEvent)
Note: The class name is of no technical importance. Your class will be associated with the path
that you pass to the register() function. To keep things simple, you should name your class
after the path that it handles, though.
static create(oscpath, **kwargs)
Create a touch event from a TUIO path
static register(oscpath, classname)
Register a new path to handle in TUIO provider
start()
Start the TUIO provider
stop()
Stop the TUIO provider
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static unregister(oscpath, classname)

Unregister a path to stop handling it in the TUIO provider
update(dispatch_fn)
Update the TUIO provider (pop events from the queue)
class kivy.input.providers.tuio.Tuio2dCurMotionEvent(device, id, args)
Bases: kivy.input.providers.tuio.TuioMotionEvent
A 2dCur TUIO touch.
class kivy.input.providers.tuio.Tuio2dObjMotionEvent(device, id, args)
Bases: kivy.input.providers.tuio.TuioMotionEvent
A 2dObj TUIO object.
29.3 Input recorder

Warning: This part of Kivy is still experimental and this API is subject to change in a future version.
This is a class that can record and replay some input events. This can be used for test cases, screen
savers etc.
Once activated, the recorder will listen for any input event and save its properties in a file with the delta
time. Later, you can play the input file: it will generate fake touch events with the saved properties and
dispatch it to the event loop.
By default, only the position is saved (pos profile and sx, sy, attributes). Change it only if you
understand how input handling works.
29.3.1 Recording events

The best way is to use the recorder module. Check the Modules documentation to see how to activate
a module.
Once activated, you can press F8 to start the recording. By default, events will be written to <currentpath>/recorder.kvi. When you want to stop recording, press F8 again.
You can replay the file by pressing F7.
Check the Recorder module module for more information.
29.3.2 Manual play

You can manually open a recorder file, and play it by doing:
from kivy.input.recorder import Recorder
rec = Recorder(filename='myrecorder.kvi')
rec.play = True
If you want to loop over that file, you can do:
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def recorder_loop(instance, value):
if value is False:
instance.play = True
rec = Recorder(filename='myrecorder.kvi')
rec.bind(play=recorder_loop)
rec.play = True
29.3.3 Recording more attributes

You can extend the attributes to save on one condition: attributes values must be simple values, not
instances of complex classes.
Lets say you want to save the angle and pressure of the touch, if available:
rec = Recorder(filename='myrecorder.kvi',
record_attrs=['is_touch', 'sx', 'sy', 'angle', 'pressure'],
record_profile_mask=['pos', 'angle', 'pressure'])
rec.record = True
Or with modules variables:

$ python main.py -m recorder,attrs=is_touch:sx:sy:angle:pressure,
profile_mask=pos:ang
29.3.4 Known limitations

Unable to save attributes with instances of complex classes.
Values that represent time will not be adjusted.
Can replay only complete records. If a begin/update/end event is missing, this could lead to
ghost touches.
Stopping the replay before the end can lead to ghost touches.
class kivy.input.recorder.Recorder(**kwargs)
Recorder class. Please check module documentation for more information.
counter
Number of events recorded in the last session.
counter is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0, read-only.
filename
Filename to save the output of the recorder.
filename is a StringProperty and defaults to recorder.kvi.
play
Boolean to start/stop the replay of the current file (if it exists).
play is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
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record
Boolean to start/stop the recording of input events.
record is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
record_attrs
Attributes to record from the motion event.
record_attrs is a ListProperty and defaults to [is_touch, sx, sy].
record_profile_mask
Profile to save in the fake motion event when replayed.
record_profile_mask is a ListProperty and defaults to [pos].
window
Window instance to attach the recorder. If None, it will use the default instance.
window is a ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
29.4 Motion Event

The MotionEvent is the base class used for events provided by pointing devices (touch and nontouch). This class defines all the properties and methods needed to handle 2D and 3D movements but
has many more capabilities.
Note: You never create the MotionEvent yourself: this is the role of the providers.
29.4.1 Motion Event and Touch

We differentiate between a Motion Event and Touch event. A Touch event is a MotionEvent with the
pos profile. Only these events are dispatched throughout the widget tree.
1. The MotionEvent s are gathered from input providers.
2. All the MotionEvent s are dispatched from on_motion().
3. If a MotionEvent has a pos profile, we dispatch it through on_touch_down(),
on_touch_move() and on_touch_up().
29.4.2 Listening to a Motion Event

If you want to receive all MotionEvents, Touch or not, you can bind the MotionEvent from the Window
to your own callback:
def on_motion(self, etype, motionevent):
# will receive all motion events.
pass
Window.bind(on_motion=on_motion)
You can also listen to changes of the mouse position by watching mouse_pos.
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29.4.3 Profiles
The MotionEvent stores device specific information in various properties listed in the profile. For
example, you can receive a MotionEvent that has an angle, a fiducial ID, or even a shape. You can check
the profile attribute to see what is currently supported by the MotionEvent provider.
This is a short list of the profile values supported by default. Please check the MotionEvent.profile
property to see what profile values are available.
Profile
value
angle
button
markerid
pos
pos3d
pressure
shape
Description
2D angle. Accessed via the a property.
Mouse button (left, right, middle, scrollup or scrolldown). Accessed via the
button property.
Marker or Fiducial ID. Accessed via the fid property.
2D position. Accessed via the x, y or pos properties.
3D position. Accessed via the x, y or z properties.
Pressure of the contact. Accessed via the pressure property.
Contact shape. Accessed via the shape property .
If you want to know whether the current MotionEvent has an angle:

if 'angle' in touch.profile:
print('The touch angle is', touch.a)
If you want to select only the fiducials:

if 'markerid' not in touch.profile:
return
class kivy.input.motionevent.MotionEvent(device, id, args)

Abstract class that represents an input event (touch or non-touch).
Parameters
id[str] unique ID of the MotionEvent
args[list] list of parameters, passed to the depack() function
apply_transform_2d(transform)
Apply a transformation on x, y, z, px, py, pz, ox, oy, oz, dx, dy, dz
copy_to(to)
Copy some attribute to another touch object.
depack(args)
Depack args into attributes of the class
device = None
Device used for creating this touch
distance(other_touch)
Return the distance between the current touch and another touch.
double_tap_time = None
If the touch is a is_double_tap, this is the time between the previous tap and the current
touch.
dpos
Return delta between last position and current position, in the screen coordinate system
(self.dx, self.dy)
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dsx = None
Delta between self.sx and self.psx, in 0-1 range.
dsy = None
Delta between self.sy and self.psy, in 0-1 range.
dsz = None
Delta between self.sz and self.psz, in 0-1 range.
dx = None
Delta between self.x and self.px, in window range
dy = None
Delta between self.y and self.py, in window range
dz = None
Delta between self.z and self.pz, in window range
grab(class_instance, exclusive=False)
Grab this motion event. You can grab a touch if you want to receive subsequent
on_touch_move() and on_touch_up() events, even if the touch is not dispatched by
the parent:
touch.grab(self)
# I received my grabbed touch
else:
# I receive my grabbed touch, I must ungrab it!
touch.ungrab(self)
else:
pass
grab_current = None
Used to determine which widget the touch is being dispatched to. Check the grab() function for more information.
id = None
Id of the touch, not uniq. This is generally the Id set by the input provider, like ID in TUIO. If
you have multiple TUIO source, the same id can be used. Prefer to use uid attribute instead.
is_double_tap = None
Indicate if the touch is a double tap or not
is_mouse_scrolling
Returns True if the touch is a mousewheel scrolling
is_touch = None
True if the Motion Event is a Touch. Can be also verified is pos is profile.
is_triple_tap = None
Indicate if the touch is a triple tap or not
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move(args)
Move the touch to another position
opos
Return the initial position of the touch in the screen coordinate system (self.ox, self.oy)
osx = None
Origin X position, in 0-1 range.
osy = None
Origin Y position, in 0-1 range.
osz = None
Origin Z position, in 0-1 range.
ox = None
Origin X position, in window range
oy = None
Origin Y position, in window range
oz = None
Origin Z position, in window range
pop()
Pop attributes values from the stack
pos = None
Position (X, Y), in window range
ppos
Return the previous position of the touch in the screen coordinate system (self.px, self.py)
profile = None
Profiles currently used in the touch
psx = None
Previous X position, in 0-1 range.
psy = None
Previous Y position, in 0-1 range.
psz = None
Previous Z position, in 0-1 range.
push(attrs=None)
Push attribute values in attrs onto the stack
push_attrs_stack = None
Attributes to push by default, when we use push() : x, y, z, dx, dy, dz, ox, oy, oz, px, py, pz.
px = None
Previous X position, in window range
py = None
Previous Y position, in window range
pz = None
Previous Z position, in window range
scale_for_screen(w, h, p=None, rotation=0, smode=None, kheight=0)
Scale position for the screen
shape = None
Shape of the touch, subclass of Shape. By default, the property is set to None
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spos
Return the position in the 0-1 coordinate system (self.sx, self.sy)
sx = None
X position, in 0-1 range
sy = None
Y position, in 0-1 range
sz = None
Z position, in 0-1 range
time_end = None
Time of the end event (last touch usage)
time_start = None
Initial time of the touch creation
time_update = None
Time of the last update
triple_tap_time = None
If the touch is a is_triple_tap, this is the time between the first tap and the current touch.
ud = None
User data dictionary. Use this dictionary to save your own data on the touch.
uid = None
Uniq ID of the touch. You can safely use this property, it will be never the same accross all
existing touches.
ungrab(class_instance)
Ungrab a previously grabbed touch
x = None
X position, in window range
y = None
Y position, in window range
z = None
Z position, in window range
29.5 Motion Event Factory

Factory of MotionEvent providers.
class kivy.input.factory.MotionEventFactory
MotionEvent factory is a class that registers all availables input factories. If you create a new input
factory, you need to register it here:
MotionEventFactory.register('myproviderid', MyInputProvider)
static get(name)
Get a provider class from the provider id
static list()
Get a list of all available providers
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static register(name, classname)

Register a input provider in the database
29.6 Motion Event Provider

Abstract class for the implemention of a MotionEvent provider. The implementation must support
the start(), stop() and update() methods.
class kivy.input.provider.MotionEventProvider(device, args)
Base class for a provider.
start()
Start the provider. This method is automatically called when the application is started and
if the configuration uses the current provider.
stop()
Stop the provider.
update(dispatch_fn)
Update the provider and dispatch all the new touch events though the dispatch_fn argument.
29.7 Motion Event Shape

Represent the shape of the MotionEvent
class kivy.input.shape.Shape
Abstract class for all implementations of a shape
class kivy.input.shape.ShapeRect
Bases: kivy.input.shape.Shape
Class for the representation of a rectangle.
height
Height of the rect
width
Width fo the rect
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CHAPTER
THIRTY
EXTERNAL LIBRARIES
Kivy comes with other python/C libraries :
ddslib
oscAPI (modified / optimized)
mtdev
Warning: Even though Kivy comes with these external libraries, we do not provide any support for
them and they might change in the future. Dont rely on them in your code.
30.1 GstPlayer
GstPlayer is a media player implemented specifically for Kivy with Gstreamer 1.0. It doesnt use Gi at
all and is focused on what we want: the ability to read video and stream the image in a callback, or read
an audio file. Dont use it directly but use our Core providers instead.
This player is automatically compiled if you have pkg-config libs cflags gstreamer-1.0 working.
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CHAPTER
THIRTYONE
MODULES
Modules are classes that can be loaded when a Kivy application is starting. The loading of modules is
managed by the config file. Currently, we include:
touchring: Draw a circle around each touch.
monitor: Add a red topbar that indicates the FPS and a small graph indicating input activity.
keybinding: Bind some keys to actions, such as a screenshot.
recorder: Record and playback a sequence of events.
screen: Emulate the characteristics (dpi/density/ resolution) of different screens.
inspector: Examines your widget hierarchy and widget properties.
webdebugger: Realtime examination of your app internals via a web browser.
Modules are automatically loaded from the Kivy path and User path:
PATH_TO_KIVY/kivy/modules
HOME/.kivy/mods
31.1 Activating a module

There are various ways in which you can activate a kivy module.
31.1.1 Activate a module in the config

To activate a module this way, you can edit your configuration file (in your HOME/.kivy/config.ini):
[modules]
# uncomment to activate
touchring =
# monitor =
# keybinding =
Only the name of the module followed by = is sufficient to activate the module.
31.1.2 Activate a module in Python

Before starting your application, preferably at the start of your import, you can do something like this:
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import kivy
# Activate the touchring module
from kivy.config import Config
Config.set('modules', 'touchring', '')
31.1.3 Activate a module via the commandline

When starting your application from the commandline, you can add a -m <modulename> to the arguments. For example:
python main.py -m webdebugger
Note: Some modules, such as the screen, may require additional parameters. They will, however, print
these parameters to the console when launched without them.
31.2 Create your own module

Create a file in your HOME/.kivy/mods, and create 2 functions:
def start(win, ctx):
pass
def stop(win, ctx):
pass
Start/stop are functions that will be called for every window opened in Kivy. When you are starting a
module, you can use these to store and manage the module state. Use the ctx variable as a dictionary.
This context is unique for each instance/start() call of the module, and will be passed to stop() too.
31.3 Console
Reboot of the old inspector, designed to be modular and keep concerns separated. It also have a addons
architecture that allow you to add a button, panel, or more in the Console itself.
Warning: This module works, but might fail in some cases. Please contribute!
31.3.1 Usage
For normal module usage, please see the modules documentation:
python main.py -m console
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31.3.2 Mouse navigation

When Select button is activated, you can:
tap once on a widget to select it without leaving inspect mode
double tap on a widget to select and leave inspect mode (then you can manipulate the widget
again)
31.3.3 Keyboard navigation

Ctrl + e: toggle console
Escape: cancel widget lookup, then hide inspector view
Top: select the parent widget
Down: select the first children of the current selected widget
Left: select the previous following sibling
Right: select the next following sibling
31.3.4 Additionnal informations

Some properties can be edited live. However, due to the delayed usage of some properties, it might
crash if you dont handle all the cases.
31.3.5 Addons
Addons must be added to Console.addons before the first Clock tick of the application, or before the
create_console is called. You cannot add addons on the fly currently. Addons are quite cheap until the
Console is activated. Panel are even cheaper, nothing is done until the user select it.
By default, we provide multiple addons activated by default:
ConsoleAddonFps: display the FPS at the top-right
ConsoleAddonSelect: activate the selection mode
ConsoleAddonBreadcrumb: display the hierarchy of the current widget at the bottom
ConsoleAddonWidgetTree: panel to display the widget tree of the application
ConsoleAddonWidgetPanel: panel to display the properties of the selected widget
If you need to add custom widget in the Console, please use either ConsoleButton,
ConsoleToggleButton or ConsoleLabel
An addon must inherit from the ConsoleAddon class.
For example, here is a simple addon for displaying the FPS at the top/right of the Console:
from kivy.modules.console import Console, ConsoleAddon
class ConsoleAddonFps(ConsoleAddon):
def init(self):
self.lbl = ConsoleLabel(text="0 Fps")
self.console.add_toolbar_widget(self.lbl, right=True)
def activate(self):
Clock.schedule_interval(self.update_fps, 1 / 2.)
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def deactivated(self):
Clock.unschedule(self.update_fps)
def update_fps(self, *args):
fps = Clock.get_fps()
self.lbl.text = "{} Fps".format(int(fps))
Console.register_addon(ConsoleAddonFps)
You can create addon that adds panels. Panel activation/deactivation are not tied to the addon activation/deactivation, but on some cases, you can use the same callback for deactivating the addon and the
panel. Here is a simple About panel addon:
from kivy.modules.console import Console, ConsoleAddon, ConsoleLabel
class ConsoleAddonAbout(ConsoleAddon):
def init(self):
self.console.add_panel("About", self.panel_activate,
self.panel_deactivate)
def panel_activate(self):
self.console.bind(widget=self.update_content)
self.update_content()
def panel_deactivate(self):
self.console.unbind(widget=self.update_content)
def deactivate(self):
self.panel_deactivate()
def update_content(self, *args):
widget = self.console.widget
if not widget:
return
text = "Selected widget is: {!r}".format(widget)
lbl = ConsoleLabel(text=text)
self.console.set_content(lbl)
Console.register_addon(ConsoleAddonAbout)
kivy.modules.console.start(win, ctx)
Create an Console instance attached to the ctx and bound to the Windows on_keyboard() event
for capturing the keyboard shortcut.
Parameters
win: A WindowThe application Window to bind to.
ctx: A Widget or subclassThe Widget to be inspected.
kivy.modules.console.stop(win, ctx)
Stop and unload any active Inspectors for the given ctx.
class kivy.modules.console.Console(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.relativelayout.RelativeLayout
Console interface
This widget is created by create_console(), when the module is loaded. During that time, you can
add addons on the console to extend the functionnalities, or add your own application stats /
debugging module.
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activated
True if the Console is activated (showed)
add_panel(name, cb_activate, cb_deactivate, cb_refresh=None)
Add a new panel in the Console.
cb_activate is a callable that will be called when the panel is
activated by the user.
cb_deactivate is a callable that will be called when the panel is
deactivated or when the console will hide.
cb_refresh is an optionnal callable that is called if the user
click again on the button for display the panel
When activated, its up to the panel to display a content in the Console by using
set_content().
add_toolbar_widget(widget, right=False)
Add a widget in the top left toolbar of the Console. Use right=True if you wanna add the
widget at the right instead.
addons = [<class kivy.modules.console.ConsoleAddonSelect>, <class kivy.modules.console.ConsoleAddonF

Array of addons that will be created at Console creation
highlight_at(x, y)
Select a widget from a x/y window coordinate. This is mostly used internally when Select
mode is activated
inspect_enabled
Indicate if the inspector inspection is enabled. If yes, the next touch down will select a the
widget under the touch
mode
Display mode of the Console, either docked at the bottom, or as a floating window.
pick(widget, x, y)
Pick a widget at x/y, given a root widget
remove_toolbar_widget(widget)
Remove a widget from the toolbar
set_content(content)
Replace the Console content with a new one.
widget
Current widget beeing selected
class kivy.modules.console.ConsoleAddon(console)
Base class for implementing addons
activate()
Method called when the addon is activated by the console (when the console is displayed)
console = None
Console instance
deactivate()
Method called when the addon is deactivated by the console (when the console is hidden)
init()
Method called when the addon is instanciated by the Console
class kivy.modules.console.ConsoleButton(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.button.Button
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Button specialized for the Console

class kivy.modules.console.ConsoleToggleButton(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.togglebutton.ToggleButton
ToggleButton specialized for the Console
class kivy.modules.console.ConsoleLabel(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.label.Label
LabelButton specialized for the Console
31.4 Inspector
Warning: This module is highly experimental, use it with care.
The Inspector is a tool for finding a widget in the widget tree by clicking or tapping on it. Some keyboard shortcuts are activated:
Ctrl + e: activate / deactivate the inspector view
Escape: cancel widget lookup first, then hide the inspector view
Available inspector interactions:
tap once on a widget to select it without leaving inspect mode
double tap on a widget to select and leave inspect mode (then you can manipulate the widget
again)
Some properties can be edited live. However, due to the delayed usage of some properties, it might
crash if you dont handle all the cases.
31.4.1 Usage
For normal module usage, please see the modules documentation.
The Inspector, however, can also be imported and used just like a normal python module. This has the
added advantage of being able to activate and deactivate the module programmatically:
from
from
from
from
kivy.core.window import Window

kivy.app import App
kivy.modules import inspector
class Demo(App):
def build(self):
button = Button(text="Test")
inspector.create_inspector(Window, button)
return button
Demo().run()
To remove the Inspector, you can do the following:

inspector.stop(Window, button)
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kivy.modules.inspector.stop(win, ctx)
Stop and unload any active Inspectors for the given ctx.
kivy.modules.inspector.create_inspector(win, ctx, *l)
Create an Inspector instance attached to the ctx and bound to the Windows on_keyboard()
event for capturing the keyboard shortcut.
Parameters
win: A WindowThe application Window to bind to.
ctx: A Widget or subclassThe Widget to be inspected.
31.5 Keybinding
This module forces the mapping of some keys to functions:
F11: Rotate the Window through 0, 90, 180 and 270 degrees
Shift + F11: Switches between portrait and landscape on desktops
F12: Take a screenshot
Note: this doest work if the application requests the keyboard beforehand.
31.5.1 Usage
The Keybinding module, however, can also be imported and used just like a normal python module.
This has the added advantage of being able to activate and deactivate the module programmatically:
from
from
from
from
kivy.app import App

kivy.modules import keybinding
kivy.core.window import Window
class Demo(App):
def build(self):
button = Button(text="Hello")
keybinding.start(Window, button)
return button
Demo().run()
To remove the Keybinding, you can do the following:

Keybinding.stop(Window, button)
31.6 Monitor module

The Monitor module is a toolbar that shows the activity of your current application :
FPS
Graph of input events
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31.6.1 Usage
31.7 Recorder module

Create an instance of Recorder, attach to the class, and bind some keys to record / play sequences:
F6: play the last record in a loop
F7: read the latest recording
F8: record input events
31.7.1 Configuration
Parameters attrs: str, defaults to record_attrs value.
Attributes to record from the motion event
profile_mask: str, defaults to record_profile_mask value.
Mask for motion event profile. Used to filter which profile will appear in
the fake motion event when replayed.
filename: str, defaults to recorder.kvi
Name of the file to record / play with
31.7.2 Usage
31.8 Screen
This module changes some environement and configuration variables to match the density / dpi /
screensize of a specific device.
To see a list of the available screenids, just run:
python main.py -m screen
To simulate a medium-density screen such as the Motolora Droid 2:

python main.py -m screen:droid2
To simulate a high-density screen such as HTC One X, in portrait:

python main.py -m screen:onex,portrait
To simulate the iPad 2 screen:

python main.py -m screen:ipad
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If the generated window is too large, you can specify a scale:

python main.py -m screen:note2,portrait,scale=.75
Note that to display your contents correctly on a scaled window you must consistently use units dp
and sp throughout your app. See metrics for more details.
31.9 Touchring
Shows rings around every touch on the surface / screen. You can use this module to check that you
dont have any calibration issues with touches.
31.9.1 Configuration
Parameters
image: str, defaults to <kivy>/data/images/ring.png Filename of the image to use.
scale: float, defaults to 1. Scale of the image.
alpha: float, defaults to 1. Opacity of the image.
show_cursor: boolean, defaults to False New in version 1.8.0.
cursor_image: str, defaults to atlas://data/images/defaulttheme/slider_cursor
Image used to represent the cursor if displayed .. versionadded:: 1.8.0
cursor_size: tuple, defaults to (None, None) Apparent size of the mouse cursor, if
displayed, default value will keep its real size. .. versionadded:: 1.8.0
cursor_offset: tuple, defaults to (None, None) Offset of the texture image. The default value will align the top-left corner of the image to the mouse pos. .. versionadded:: 1.8.0
31.9.2 Example
In your configuration (~/.kivy/config.ini), you can add something like this:
[modules]
touchring = image=mypointer.png,scale=.3,alpha=.7
31.10 Web Debugger

Warning: This module is highly experimental, use it with care.
This module will start a webserver and run in the background. You can see how your application
evolves during runtime, examine the internal cache etc.
Run with:
python main.py -m webdebugger
Then open your webbrowser on http://localhost:5000/

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CHAPTER
THIRTYTWO
NETWORK SUPPORT
Kivy currently supports basic, asynchronous
kivy.network.urlrequest.UrlRequest.
network
requests.
Please
refer
to
32.1 Url Request

You can use the UrlRequest to make asynchronous requests on the web and get the result when the
request is completed. The spirit is the same as the XHR object in Javascript.
The content is also decoded if the Content-Type is application/json and the result automatically passed
through json.loads.
The syntax to create a request:
from kivy.network.urlrequest import UrlRequest
req = UrlRequest(url, on_success, on_redirect, on_failure, on_error,
on_progress, req_body, req_headers, chunk_size,
timeout, method, decode, debug, file_path, ca_file,
verify)
Only the first argument is mandatory: the rest are optional. By default, a GET request will be sent.
If the UrlRequest.req_body is not None, a POST request will be sent. Its up to you to adjust
UrlRequest.req_headers to suit your requirements and the response to the request will be accessible as the parameter called result on the callback function of the on_success event.
Example of fetching weather in Paris:
def got_weather(req, results):
for key, value in results['weather'][0].items():
print(key, ': ', value)
req = UrlRequest(
'http://api.openweathermap.org/data/2.5/weather?q=Paris,fr',
got_weather)
Example of Posting data (adapted from httplib example):

import urllib
def bug_posted(req, result):
print('Our bug is posted !')
print(result)
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params = urllib.urlencode({'@number': 12524, '@type': 'issue',

'@action': 'show'})
headers = {'Content-type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded',
'Accept': 'text/plain'}
req = UrlRequest('bugs.python.org', on_success=bug_posted, req_body=params,
req_headers=headers)
If you want a synchronous request, you can call the wait() method.
class kivy.network.urlrequest.UrlRequest(url, on_success=None, on_redirect=None,
on_failure=None,
on_error=None,
on_progress=None,
req_body=None,
req_headers=None, chunk_size=8192, timeout=None,
method=None,
decode=True,
debug=False, file_path=None, ca_file=None,
verify=True)
Bases: threading.Thread
A UrlRequest. See module documentation for usage.
Changed in version 1.5.1: Add debug parameter
Changed in version 1.0.10: Add method parameter
Changed in version 1.8.0: Parameter decode added.
on_redirect added. Parameter on_failure added.
Parameter file_path added.
Parameter
Changed in version 1.9.1: Parameter ca_file added. Parameter verify added.

Parameters
url: strComplete url string to call.
on_success: callback(request, result)Callback function to call when the result
has been fetched.
on_redirect: callback(request, result)Callback function to call if the server returns a Redirect.
on_failure: callback(request, result)Callback function to call if the server returns
a Client or Server Error.
on_error: callback(request, error)Callback function to call if an error occurs.
on_progress: callback(request, current_size, total_size)Callback function that
will be called to report progression of the download. total_size might be
-1 if no Content-Length has been reported in the http response. This callback will be called after each chunk_size is read.
req_body: str, defaults to NoneData to sent in the request. If its not None, a
POST will be done instead of a GET.
req_headers: dict, defaults to NoneCustom headers to add to the request.
chunk_size: int, defaults to 8192Size of each chunk to read, used only when
on_progress callback has been set. If you decrease it too much, a lot of
on_progress callbacks will be fired and will slow down your download. If
you want to have the maximum download speed, increase the chunk_size
or dont use on_progress.
timeout: int, defaults to NoneIf set, blocking operations will timeout after this
many seconds.
method: str, defaults to GET (or POST if body is specified)The
HTTP
method to use.
decode: bool, defaults to TrueIf False, skip decoding of the response.
debug: bool, defaults to FalseIf True, it will use the Logger.debug to print information about url access/progression/errors.
file_path: str, defaults to NoneIf set, the result of the UrlRequest will be written
to this path instead of in memory.
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ca_file: str, defaults to NoneIndicates a SSL CA certificate file path to validate

HTTPS certificates against
verify: bool, defaults to TrueIf False, disables SSL CA certificate verification
chunk_size
Return the size of a chunk, used only in progress mode (when on_progress callback is set.)
decode_result(result, resp)
Decode the result fetched from url according to his Content-Type. Currently supports only
application/json.
error
Return the error of the request. This value is not determined until the request is completed.
get_connection_for_scheme(scheme)
Return the Connection class for a particular scheme. This is an internal function that can be
expanded to support custom schemes.
Actual supported schemes: http, https.
is_finished
Return True if the request has finished, whether its a success or a failure.
req_body = None
Request body passed in __init__
req_headers = None
Request headers passed in __init__
resp_headers
If the request has been completed, return a dictionary containing the headers of the response.
Otherwise, it will return None.
resp_status
Return the status code of the response if the request is complete, otherwise return None.
result
Return the result of the request. This value is not determined until the request is finished.
url = None
Url of the request
wait(delay=0.5)
Wait for the request to finish (until resp_status is not None)
Note: This method is intended to be used in the main thread, and the callback will be
dispatched from the same thread from which youre calling.
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404
CHAPTER
THIRTYTHREE
STORAGE
Warning: This module is still experimental, and the API is subject to change in a future version.
33.1 Usage
The idea behind the Storage module is to be able to load/store any number of key-value pairs via an
indexed key. The default model is abstract so you cannot use it directly. We provide some implementations such as:
kivy.storage.dictstore.DictStore: use a python dict as a store
kivy.storage.jsonstore.JsonStore: use a JSON file as a store
kivy.storage.redisstore.RedisStore: use a Redis database with redis-py
33.2 Examples
For example, lets use a JsonStore:
from kivy.storage.jsonstore import JsonStore
store = JsonStore('hello.json')
# put some values
store.put('tito', name='Mathieu', org='kivy')
store.put('tshirtman', name='Gabriel', age=27)
# using the same index key erases all previously added key-value pairs
store.put('tito', name='Mathieu', age=30)
# get a value using a index key and key
print('tito is', store.get('tito')['age'])
# or guess the key/entry for a part of the key
for item in store.find(name='Gabriel'):
print('tshirtmans index key is', item[0])
print('his key value pairs are', str(item[1]))
Because the data is persistant, you can check later to see if the key exists:
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from kivy.storage.jsonstore import JsonStore

if store.exists('tito'):
print('tite exists:', store.get('tito'))
store.delete('tito')
33.3 Synchronous / Asynchronous API

All the standard methods (get(), put() , exists(), delete(), find()) have an asynchronous
version.
For example, the get method has a callback parameter. If set, the callback will be used to return the result
to the user when available: the request will be asynchronous. If the callback is None, then the request
will be synchronous and the result will be returned directly.
Without callback (Synchronous API):
entry = mystore.get('tito')
print('tito =', entry)
With callback (Asynchronous API):

def my_callback(store, key, result):
print('the key', key, 'has a value of', result)
mystore.get('plop', callback=my_callback)
The callback signature (for almost all methods) is:

def callback(store, key, result):
"""
store: the `Store` instance currently used.
key: the key sought for.
result: the result of the lookup for the key.
"""
33.4 Synchronous container type

The storage API emulates the container type for the synchronous API:
# original: store.get('tito')
store['tito']
# original: store.put('tito', name='Mathieu')
store['tito'] = {'name': 'Mathieu'}
# original: store.delete('tito')
del store['tito']
# original: store.count()
len(store)
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# original: store.exists('tito')
'tito' in store
# original: for key in store.keys()
for key in store:
pass
class kivy.storage.AbstractStore(**kwargs)
Abstract class used to implement a Store
async_clear(callback)
Asynchronous version of clear().
async_count(callback)
Asynchronously return the number of entries in the storage.
async_delete(callback, key)
Asynchronous version of delete().
Callback arguments
store: AbstractStore instanceStore instance
key: stringName of the key to search for
result: boolIndicate True if the storage has been updated, or False if nothing has been done (no changes). None if any error.
async_exists(callback, key)
Asynchronous version of exists().
Callback arguments
result: booResult of the query, None if any error
async_find(callback, **filters)
Asynchronous version of find().
The callback will be called for each entry in the result.
Callback arguments
key: stringName of the key to search for, or None if we reach the end of the
results
async_get(callback, key)
Asynchronous version of get().
Callback arguments
result: dictResult of the query, None if any error
async_keys(callback)
Asynchronously return all the keys in the storage.
async_put(callback, key, **values)
Asynchronous version of put().
Callback arguments
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clear()
Wipe the whole storage.
count()
Return the number of entries in the storage.
delete(key)
Delete a key from the storage. If the key is not found, a KeyError exception will be thrown.
exists(key)
Check if a key exists in the store.
find(**filters)
Return all the entries matching the filters. The entries are returned through a generator as a
list of (key, entry) pairs where entry is a dict of key-value pairs
for key, entry in store.find(name='Mathieu'):
print('key:', key, ', entry:', entry)
Because its a generator, you cannot directly use it as a list. You can do:
# get all the (key, entry) availables
entries = list(store.find(name='Mathieu'))
# get only the entry from (key, entry)
entries = list((x[1] for x in store.find(name='Mathieu')))
get(key)
Get the key-value pairs stored at key. If the key is not found, a KeyError exception will be
thrown.
keys()
Return a list of all the keys in the storage.
put(key, **values)
Put new key-value pairs (given in values) into the storage. Any existing key-value pairs will
be removed.
33.5 Dictionary store

Use a Python dictionary as a store.
class kivy.storage.dictstore.DictStore(filename, data=None, **kwargs)
Bases: kivy.storage.AbstractStore
Store implementation using a pickled dict. See the kivy.storage module documentation for
more information.
33.6 JSON store

A Storage module used to save/load key-value pairs from a json file.
class kivy.storage.jsonstore.JsonStore(filename, **kwargs)
Store implementation using a json file for storing the key-value pairs. See the kivy.storage
module documentation for more information.
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33.7 Redis Store

Store implementation using Redis. You must have redis-py installed.
Usage example:
from kivy.storage.redisstore import RedisStore
params = dict(host='localhost', port=6379, db=14)
store = RedisStore(params)
All the key-value pairs will be stored with a prefix store by default. You can instanciate the storage
with another prefix like this:
from kivy.storage.redisstore import RedisStore
params = dict(host='localhost', port=6379, db=14)
store = RedisStore(params, prefix='mystore2')
The params dictionary will be passed to the redis.StrictRedis class.

See redis-py.
class kivy.storage.redisstore.RedisStore(redis_params, **kwargs)
Store implementation using a Redis database. See the kivy.storage module documentation
for more informations.
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CHAPTER
THIRTYFOUR
WIDGETS
Widgets are elements of a graphical user interface that form part of the User Experience. The kivy.uix
module contains classes for creating and managing Widgets. Please refer to the Widget class documentation for further information.
Kivy widgets can be categorized as follows:
UX widgets: Classical user interface widgets, ready to be assembled to create more complex widgets.
Label, Button, CheckBox, Image, Slider, Progress Bar, Text Input, Toggle button,
Switch, Video
Layouts: A layout widget does no rendering but just acts as a trigger that arranges its children in
a specific way. Read more on Layouts here.
Anchor Layout, Box Layout, Float Layout, Grid Layout, PageLayout, Relative Layout,
Scatter Layout, Stack Layout
Complex UX widgets: Non-atomic widgets that are the result of combining multiple classic widgets. We call them complex because their assembly and usage are not as generic as the classical
widgets.
Bubble, Drop-Down List, FileChooser, Popup, Spinner, List View, TabbedPanel, Video
player, VKeyboard,
Behaviors widgets: These widgets do no rendering but act on the graphics instructions or interaction (touch) behavior of their children.
Scatter, Stencil View
Screen manager: Manages screens and transitions when switching from one to another.
Screen Manager
34.1 Behaviors
34.1.1 Behavior mixin classes

This module implements behaviors that can be mixed in with existing base widgets. The idea behind
these classes is to encapsulate properties and events associated with certain types of widgets.
Isolating these properties and events in a mixin class allows you to define your own implementation for
standard kivy widgets that can act as drop-in replacements. This means you can re-style and re-define
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widgets as desired without breaking compatibility: as long as they implement the behaviors correctly,
they can simply replace the standard widgets.
34.1.2 Adding behaviors

Say you want to add Button capabilities to an Image, you could do:
class IconButton(ButtonBehavior, Image):
pass
This would give you an Image with the events and properties inherited from ButtonBehavior. For
example, the on_press and on_release events would be fired when appropriate:
class IconButton(ButtonBehavior, Image):
def on_press(self):
print("on_press")
Or in kv:
IconButton:
on_press: print('on_press')
Naturally, you could also bind to any property changes the behavior class offers:
def state_changed(*args):
print('state changed')
button = IconButton()
button.bind(state=state_changed)
Note: The behavior class must always be _before_ the widget class. If you dont specify the inheritance
in this order, the behavior will not work because the behavior methods are overwritten by the class
method listed first.
Similarly, if you combine a behavior class with a class which requires the use of the methods also defined
by the behavior class, the resulting class may not function properly. For example, when combining the
ButtonBehavior with a Slider, both of which use the on_touch_up() method, the resulting class
may not work properly.
Changed in version 1.9.1: The individual behavior classes, previously in one big behaviors.py file, has
been split into a single file for each class under the behaviors module. All the behaviors are still
imported in the behaviors module so they are accessible as before (e.g. both from kivy.uix.behaviors
import ButtonBehavior and from kivy.uix.behaviors.button import ButtonBehavior work).
class kivy.uix.behaviors.ButtonBehavior(**kwargs)
This mixin class provides Button behavior.
Events
on_pressFired when the button is pressed.
on_releaseFired when the button is released (i.e. the touch/click that pressed the
button goes away).
trigger_action(duration=0.1)
Trigger whatever action(s) have been bound to the button by calling both the on_press and
on_release callbacks.
This simulates a quick button press without using any touch events.
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Duration is the length of the press in seconds. Pass 0 if you want the action to happen
instantly.
class kivy.uix.behaviors.ToggleButtonBehavior(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.behaviors.button.ButtonBehavior
This mixin class provides ToggleButton behavior. Please see the togglebutton module documentation for more information.
static get_widgets(groupname)
Return a list of the widgets contained in a specific group. If the group doesnt exist, an
empty list will be returned.
Note: Always release the result of this method! Holding a reference to any of these widgets
can prevent them from being garbage collected. If in doubt, do:
l = ToggleButtonBehavior.get_widgets('mygroup')
# do your job
del l
Warning: Its possible that some widgets that you have previously deleted are still in
the list. The garbage collector might need to release other objects before flushing them.
class kivy.uix.behaviors.DragBehavior(**kwargs)
This mixin class provides Drag behavior. When combined with a widget, dragging in the rectangle
defined by drag_rectangle will drag the widget.
For example, to make a popup which is draggable by its title do:
from kivy.uix.behaviors import DragBehavior
from kivy.uix.popup import Popup
class DragPopup(DragBehavior, Popup):
pass
And in .kv do:

<DragPopup>:
drag_rectangle: self.x, self.y+self._container.height, self.width,
drag_timeout: 10000000
drag_distance: 0
self.height

class kivy.uix.behaviors.FocusBehavior(**kwargs)
This mixin class provides keyboard focus behavior. When combined with other FocusBehavior
widgets it allows one to cycle focus among them by pressing tab. In addition, upon gaining focus,
the instance will automatically receive keyboard input.
Focus, very different from selection, is intimately tied with the keyboard; each keyboard can focus
on zero or one widgets, and each widget can only have the focus of one keyboard. However,
multiple keyboards can focus simultaneously on different widgets. When escape is hit, the widget
having the focus of that keyboard will de-focus.
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In essence, focus is implemented as a doubly linked list, where each node holds a (weak) reference
to the instance before it and after it, as visualized when cycling through the nodes using tab
(forward) or shift+tab (backward). If a previous or next widget is not specified, focus_next
and focus_previous defaults to None. This means that the children list and parents are
walked to find the next focusable widget, unless focus_next or focus_previous is set to the
StopIteration class, in which case focus stops there.
For example, to cycle focus between Button elements of a GridLayout:
class FocusButton(FocusBehavior, Button):
pass
for i in range(40):
grid.add_widget(FocusButton(text=str(i)))
# clicking on a widget will activate focus, and tab can now be used
# to cycle through
When using a software keyboard, typical on mobile and touch devices, the keyboard display
behavior is determined by the softinput_mode property. You can use this property to ensure
the focused widget is not covered or obscured by the keyboard.
hide_keyboard()
Convenience function to hide the keyboard in managed mode.
keyboard_on_key_down(window, keycode, text, modifiers)
The method bound to the keyboard when the instance has focus.
When the instance becomes focused, this method is bound to the keyboard
and will be called for every input press.
The parameters are the same as
kivy.core.window.WindowBase.on_key_down().
When overwriting the method in the derived widget, super should be called to enable tab
cycling. If the derived widget wishes to use tab for its own purposes, it can call super after
it has processed the character (if it does not wish to consume the tab).
Similar to other keyboard functions, it should return True if the key was consumed.
keyboard_on_key_up(window, keycode)
and will be called for every input release.
kivy.core.window.WindowBase.on_key_up().
When overwriting the method in the derived widget, super should be called to enable defocusing on escape. If the derived widget wishes to use escape for its own purposes, it can
call super after it has processed the character (if it does not wish to consume the escape).
See keyboard_on_key_down()
show_keyboard()
Convenience function to show the keyboard in managed mode.
class kivy.uix.behaviors.CompoundSelectionBehavior(**kwargs)
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The Selection behavior mixin implements the logic behind keyboard and touch selection of selectable widgets managed by the derived widget. For example, it could be combined with a
GridLayout to add selection to the layout.
At its core, it keeps a dynamic list of widgets that can be selected. Then, as the touches and
keyboard input are passed in, it selects one or more of the widgets based on these inputs. For
example, it uses the mouse scroll and keyboard up/down buttons to scroll through the list of
widgets. Multiselection can also be achieved using the keyboard shift and ctrl keys. Finally, in
addition to the up/down type keyboard inputs, it can also accepts letters from the kayboard to be
used to select nodes with associated strings that start with those letters, similar to how files are
selected by a file browser.
When the controller needs to select a node it calls select_node() and deselect_node().
Therefore, they must be overwritten in order affect the selected nodes. By default, the
class doesnt listen to keyboard and touch events, therefore, the derived widget must call
select_with_touch(), select_with_key_down(), and select_with_key_up() on
events that it wants to pass on for selection purposes.
For example, to add selection to a grid layout which will contain Button widgets:
class SelectableGrid(CompoundSelectionBehavior, GridLayout):
super(CompoundSelectionBehavior, self).__init__(**kwargs)
keyboard = Window.request_keyboard(None, self)
keyboard.bind(on_key_down=self.select_with_key_down,
on_key_up=self.select_with_key_up)
def select_node(self, node):
node.background_color = (1, 0, 0, 1)
return super(CompoundSelectionBehavior, self).select_node(node)
def deselect_node(self, node):
super(CompoundSelectionBehavior, self).deselect_node(node)
Then, for each button added to the layout, bind on_touch_down of the button to
select_with_touch() to pass on the touch events.
clear_selection()
Deselects all the currently selected nodes.
deselect_node(node)
Deselects a possibly selected node.
It is called by the controller when it deselects a node and can also be called from the outside
to deselect a node directly. The derived widget should overwrite this method and change
the node to its unselected state when this is called
Parameters
nodeThe node to be deselected.
Warning: This method must be called by the derived widget using super if it is overwritten.
get_index_of_node(node, selectable_nodes)
(internal) Returns the index of the node within the selectable_nodes returned by
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get_selectable_nodes().
get_selectable_nodes()
(internal) Returns a list of the nodes that can be selected. It can be overwritten by the derived
widget to return the correct list.
This list is used to determine which nodes to select with group selection. E.g. the last
element in the list will be selected when home is pressed, pagedown will move (or add
to, if shift is held) the selection from the current position by negative page_count nodes
starting from the position of the currently selected node in this list and so on. Still, nodes
can be selected even if they are not in this list.
Note: It is safe to dynamically change this list including removing, adding, or re-arranging
its elements. Nodes can be selected even if they are not on this list. And selected nodes
removed from the list will remain selected until deselect_node() is called.
Warning: Layouts display their children in the reverse order. That is, the contents of
children is displayed form right to left, bottom to top. Therefore, internally, the indices
of the elements returned by this function are reversed to make it work by default for
most layouts so that the final result is consistent e.g. home, although it will select the
last element in this list visually, will select the first element when counting from top to
bottom and left to right. If this behavior is not desired, a reversed list should be returned
instead.
Defaults to returning children.
goto_node(key, last_node, last_node_idx)
(internal) Used by the controller to get the node at the position indicated by key. The key can
be keyboard inputs, e.g. pageup, or scroll inputs from the mouse scroll wheel, e.g. scrollup.
last_node is the last node selected and is used to find the resulting node. For example, if
the key is up, the returned node is one node up from the last node.
It can be overwritten by the derived widget.
Parameters
keystr, the string used to find the desired node. It can be any of the keyboard keys, as well as the mouse scrollup, scrolldown, scrollright,
and scrollleft strings. If letters are typed in quick succession, the letters will be combined before its passed in as key and can be used to
find nodes that have an associated string that starts with those letters.
last_nodeThe last node that was selected.
last_node_idxThe cached index of the last node selected in the
get_selectable_nodes() list. If the list hasnt changed it saves
having to look up the index of last_node in that list.
Returnstuple, the node targeted by key and its index in the
get_selectable_nodes() list. Returning (last_node, last_node_idx)
indicates a node wasnt found.
select_node(node)
Selects a node.
It is called by the controller when it selects a node and can be called from the outside to
select a node directly. The derived widget should overwrite this method and change the
node state to selected when called.
Parameters
nodeThe node to be selected.
Returnsbool, True if the node was selected, False otherwise.
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select_with_key_down(keyboard, scancode, codepoint, modifiers, **kwargs)
Processes a key press. This is called when a key press is to be used for selection. Depending
on the keyboard keys pressed and the configuration, it could select or deselect nodes or node
ranges from the selectable nodes list, get_selectable_nodes().
The parameters are such that it could be bound directly to the on_key_down event of a
keyboard. Therefore, it is safe to be called repeatedly when the key is held down as is done
by the keyboard.
Returnsbool, True if the keypress was used, False otherwise.
select_with_key_up(keyboard, scancode, **kwargs)
(internal) Processes a key release. This must be called by the derived widget when a key
that select_with_key_down() returned True is released.
The parameters are such that it could be bound directly to the on_key_up event of a keyboard.
Returnsbool, True if the key release was used, False otherwise.
select_with_touch(node, touch=None)
(internal) Processes a touch on the node. This should be called by the derived widget when
a node is touched and is to be used for selection. Depending on the keyboard keys pressed
and the configuration, it could select or deslect this and other nodes in the selectable nodes
list, get_selectable_nodes().
Parameters
nodeThe node that recieved the touch. Can be None for a scroll type touch.
touchOptionally, the touch. Defaults to None.
Returnsbool, True if the touch was used, False otherwise.
class kivy.uix.behaviors.CodeNavigationBehavior
Code navigation behavior. Modifies navigation behavior in TextInput work like an IDE instead of
a word processor.
class kivy.uix.behaviors.EmacsBehavior(**kwargs)
A mixin that enables Emacs-style keyboard shortcuts for the TextInput widget.
delete_word_left()
Delete text left of the cursor to the beginning of word
delete_word_right()
Delete text right of the cursor to the end of the word
34.1.3 Emacs Behavior

This mixin allows you to add Emacs keyboard shortcuts for basic movement and editing to the
TextInput widget. The shortcuts currently available are listed below:
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Emacs shortcuts
Shortcut
Control + a
Control + e
Control + f
Control + b
Alt + f
Alt + b
Alt + Backspace
Alt + d
Alt + w
Control + w
Control + y
Description
Move cursor to the beginning of the line
Move cursor to the end of the line
Move cursor one character to the right
Move cursor one character to the left
Move cursor to the end of the word to the right
Move cursor to the start of the word to the left
Copy selection
Cut selection
Paste selection
Warning: If you have the inspector module enabled, the shortcut for opening the inspector
(Control + e) conflicts with the Emacs shortcut to move to the end of the line (it will still move the
cursor to the end of the line, but the inspector will open as well).
class kivy.uix.behaviors.emacs.EmacsBehavior(**kwargs)
A mixin that enables Emacs-style keyboard shortcuts for the TextInput widget.
delete_word_left()
delete_word_right()
34.1.4 Kivy Namespaces

Provides namespace functionality for Kivy objects. It allows kivy objects to be named and then accessed
using the namespace.
KNSpace instances are the namespaces that store the named objects in Kivy ObjectProperty instances. In addition, when inheriting from KNSpaceBehavior, if the derived object is named, the
name will automatically be added to the associated namespace and will point to a proxy_ref of the
derived object.
Basic examples
By default, theres only a single namespace; the knspace namespace. The simplest example is adding
a widget to the namespace:
from kivy.uix.behaviors.knspace import knspace
widget = Widget()
knspace.my_widget = widget
This adds an kivy ObjectProperty with rebind=True and allownone=True to the knspace namespace
with property name my_widget. And the property now also points to this widget.
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This can be done automatically with:

class MyWidget(KNSpaceBehavior, Widget):
pass
widget = MyWidget(knsname='my_widget')
Or in kv:
<MyWidget@KNSpaceBehavior+Widget>
MyWidget:
knsname: 'my_widget'
Now, knspace.my_widget will point to that widget.

When one creates a second widget with the same name, the namespace will also change to point to the
new widget. E.g.:
# knspace.my_widget now points to widget
widget2 = MyWidget(knsname='my_widget')
# knspace.my_widget now points to widget2
Setting the namespace

One can also create their own namespace rather than using the default knspace by directly setting
KNSpaceBehavior.knspace:
class MyWidget(KNSpaceBehavior, Widget):
pass
my_new_namespace = KNSpace()
widget.knspace = my_new_namespace
Initially, my_widget is added to the default namespace, but when the widgets namespace is changed
to my_new_namespace, the reference to my_widget is moved to that namespace. We could have also of
course first set the namespace to my_new_namespace and then named the widget as my_widget, thereby
avoiding the initial assignment to the default namespace.
Similarly, in kv:
MyWidget:
knspace: KNSpace()
knsname: 'my_widget'
Inheriting the namespace

In the previous example, we directly set the namespace we wished to use. In the following example we
inherit it from our parent, so we only have to set it once:
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<MyLabel@KNSpaceBehavior+Label>
<MyComplexWidget@MyWidget>:
knsname: 'my_complex'
MyLabel:
knsname: 'label1'
MyLabel:
knsname: 'label2'
Then, we do:
widget = MyComplexWidget()
new_knspace = KNSpace()
widget.knspace = new_knspace
The rule is that if no knspace has been assigned to a widget, it looks for a namespace in its parent and
parents parent and so on until it find one to use. If none are found, it uses the default knspace.
When MyComplexWidget is created, it still used the default namespace. However, when we assigned to
the root widget its new_namespace, all its children switched to using that new namespace as well. So
new_knspace now contains label1 and label2 as well as my_complex.
If we had first done:
widget = MyComplexWidget()
new_knspace = KNSpace()
knspace.label1.knspace = knspace
widget.knspace = new_knspace
Then label1 would remain stored in the default knspace since it was directly set, but label2 and
my_complex would still be added to the new namespace.
One can customize the attribute used to search the parent tree by changing
KNSpaceBehavior.knspace_key. If the desired knspace is not reachable through a widgets
parent tree, e.g. in a popup that is not a widgets child, KNSpaceBehavior.knspace_key can be
used to establish a different search order.
Accessing the namespace
As seen in the previous example, if not directly assigned, the namespace is found by searching the
parent tree. Consequently, if a namespace was assigned further up the parent tree, all its children and
below could access that namespace through their KNSpaceBehavior.knspace property.
This allows the creation of multiple widgets with identically given names if each root widget instance
is assigned a new namespace. For example:
<MyComplexWidget@KNSpaceBehavior+Widget>:
Label:
text: root.knspace.pretty.text if root.knspace.pretty else ''
<MyPrettyWidget@KNSpaceBehavior+TextInput>:
knsname: 'pretty'
text: 'Hello'
<MyCompositeWidget@KNSpaceBehavior+BoxLayout>:
MyComplexWidget
MyPrettyWidget
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Now, when we do:

knspace1, knspace2 = KNSpace(), KNSpace()
composite1 = MyCompositeWidget()
composite1.knspace = knspace1
composite2.knspace = knspace2
knspace1.pretty = "Here's the ladder, now fix the roof!"
knspace2.pretty = "Get that raccoon off me!"
Because each of the MyCompositeWidget instances have a different namespace their children also use different namespaces. Consequently, the pretty and complex widgets of each instance will have different
text.
Further,
because
both
the
namespace
ObjectProperty
references,
and
:atrr:KNSpaceBehavior.knspace have rebind=True, the text of the MyComplexWidget label is rebind to match the text of MyPrettyWidget when either the roots namespace changes or when the
root.knspace.pretty property changes, as expected.
Forking a namespace
Forking a namespace provides the opportunity to create a new namesapce from a parent namespace so
that the forked namespace will contain everything in the origin namespace, but the origin namespace
will not have access to anything added to the forked namespace.
For example:
child = knspace.fork()
grandchild = child.fork()
child.label = Label()
grandchild.button = Button()
Now label is accessible by both child and grandchild, but not by knspace. And button is only accessible
by the grandchild but not by the child or by knspace. Finally, doing grandchild.label = Label() will leave
grandchild.label and child.label pointing to different labels.
A motivating example is the example from above:
<MyComplexWidget@KNSpaceBehavior+Widget>:
Label:
text: root.knspace.pretty.text if root.knspace.pretty else ''
<MyPrettyWidget@KNSpaceBehavior+TextInput>:
knsname: 'pretty'
text: 'Hello'
<MyCompositeWidget@KNSpaceBehavior+BoxLayout>:
knspace: 'fork'
MyComplexWidget
MyPrettyWidget
Notice the addition of knspace: fork. This is identical to doing knspace: self.knspace.fork(). However, doing that would lead to infinite recursion as that kv rule would be executed recursively because self.knspace will keep on changing. However, allowing knspace: fork cirumvents that. See
KNSpaceBehavior.knspace.
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Now, having forked, we just need to do:

composite1.knspace.pretty = "Here's the ladder, now fix the roof!"
composite2.knspace.pretty = "Get that raccoon off me!"
Since by forking we automatically created a unique namespace for each MyCompositeWidget instance.
class kivy.uix.behaviors.knspace.KNSpace(parent=None, **kwargs)
Each KNSpace instance is a namespace that stores the named Kivy objects associated with this
namespace. Each named object is stored as the value of a Kivy ObjectProperty of this instance
whose property name is the objects given name. Both rebind and allownone are set to True for the
property.
See KNSpaceBehavior.knspace for details on how a namespace is associated with a named
object.
When storing an object in the namespace, the objects proxy_ref is stored if the object has such an
attribute.
Parameters
parent: (internal) A KNSpace instance or None.If specified, its a parent namespace, in which case, the current namespace will have in its namespace all
its named objects as well as the named objects of its parent and parents
parent etc. See fork() for more details.
fork()
Returns a new KNSpace instance which will have access to all the named objects in the
current namespace but will also have a namespace of its own that is unique to it.
For example:
forked_knspace1 = knspace.fork()
forked_knspace2 = knspace.fork()
Now, any names added to knspace will be accessible by the forked_knspace1 and
forked_knspace2 namespaces by the normal means. However, any names added to
forked_knspace1 will not be accessible from knspace or forked_knspace2.
Similar for
forked_knspace2.
parent = None
(internal) The parent namespace instance, KNSpace, or None. See fork().
class kivy.uix.behaviors.knspace.KNSpaceBehavior(knspace=None, **kwargs)
Inheriting from this class allows naming of the inherited object, which is then added to the associated namespace knspace and accessible through it.
See knspace for details.
knsname
The name given to this instance. If named, the name will be added to the associated
knspace namespace, which will then point to the proxy_ref of this instance.
When named, one can access this object by e.g. self.knspace.name, where name is the given
name of this instance. See knspace and the module description for more details.
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knspace
The namespace instance, KNSpace, associated with this widget. The knspace namespace
stores this widget when naming this widget with knsname.
If the namespace has been set with a KNSpace instance, e.g. with self.knspace = KNSpace(),
then that instance is returned (setting with None doesnt count). Otherwise, if knspace_key
is not None, we look for a namespace to use in the object that is stored in the property named
knspace_key, of this instance. I.e. object = getattr(self, self.knspace_key).
If that object has a knspace property, then we return its value. Otherwise, we go further up,
e.g. with getattr(object, self.knspace_key) and look for its knspace property.
Finally, if we reach a value of None, or knspace_key was None, the default knspace
namespace is returned.
If knspace is set to the string fork, the current namespace in knspace will be forked
with KNSpace.fork() and the resulting namespace will be assigned to this instances
knspace. See the module examples for a motivating example.
Both rebind and allownone are True.
knspace_key
The name of the property of this instance, to use to search upwards for a namespace to use
by this instance. Defaults to parent so that well search the parent tree. See knspace.
When None, we wont search the parent tree for the namespace. allownone is True.
kivy.uix.behaviors.knspace.knspace = <kivy.uix.behaviors.knspace.KNSpace object>
The default KNSpace namespace. See KNSpaceBehavior.knspace for more details.
34.1.5 See ButtonBehavior for details.

class kivy.uix.behaviors.button.ButtonBehavior(**kwargs)
This mixin class provides Button behavior.
Events
on_pressFired when the button is pressed.
on_releaseFired when the button is released (i.e. the touch/click that pressed the
button goes away).
MIN_STATE_TIME = 0.035
The minimum period of time which the widget must remain in the down state.
MIN_STATE_TIME is a float and defaults to 0.035.
always_release
This determines whether or not the widget fires an on_release event if the touch_up is outside
the widget.
always_release is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True.
last_touch
Contains the last relevant touch received by the Button. This can be used in on_press or
on_release in order to know which touch dispatched the event.
last_touch is a ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
state
The state of the button, must be one of normal or down. The state is down only when
the button is currently touched/clicked, otherwise its normal.
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state is an OptionProperty and defaults to normal.

trigger_action(duration=0.1)
Trigger whatever action(s) have been bound to the button by calling both the on_press and
on_release callbacks.
This simulates a quick button press without using any touch events.
Duration is the length of the press in seconds. Pass 0 if you want the action to happen
instantly.
34.1.6 See CodeNavigationBehavior for more details.

class kivy.uix.behaviors.codenavigation.CodeNavigationBehavior
Code navigation behavior. Modifies navigation behavior in TextInput work like an IDE instead of
a word processor.
34.1.7 See CompoundSelectionBehavior for more details.

class kivy.uix.behaviors.compoundselection.CompoundSelectionBehavior(**kwargs)
The Selection behavior mixin implements the logic behind keyboard and touch selection of selectable widgets managed by the derived widget. For example, it could be combined with a
GridLayout to add selection to the layout.
At its core, it keeps a dynamic list of widgets that can be selected. Then, as the touches and
keyboard input are passed in, it selects one or more of the widgets based on these inputs. For
example, it uses the mouse scroll and keyboard up/down buttons to scroll through the list of
widgets. Multiselection can also be achieved using the keyboard shift and ctrl keys. Finally, in
addition to the up/down type keyboard inputs, it can also accepts letters from the kayboard to be
used to select nodes with associated strings that start with those letters, similar to how files are
selected by a file browser.
When the controller needs to select a node it calls select_node() and deselect_node().
Therefore, they must be overwritten in order affect the selected nodes. By default, the
class doesnt listen to keyboard and touch events, therefore, the derived widget must call
select_with_touch(), select_with_key_down(), and select_with_key_up() on
events that it wants to pass on for selection purposes.
For example, to add selection to a grid layout which will contain Button widgets:
class SelectableGrid(CompoundSelectionBehavior, GridLayout):
super(CompoundSelectionBehavior, self).__init__(**kwargs)
keyboard = Window.request_keyboard(None, self)
keyboard.bind(on_key_down=self.select_with_key_down,
on_key_up=self.select_with_key_up)
def select_node(self, node):
return super(CompoundSelectionBehavior, self).select_node(node)
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def deselect_node(self, node):

super(CompoundSelectionBehavior, self).deselect_node(node)
Then, for each button added to the layout, bind on_touch_down of the button to
select_with_touch() to pass on the touch events.
clear_selection()
Deselects all the currently selected nodes.
deselect_node(node)
Deselects a possibly selected node.
It is called by the controller when it deselects a node and can also be called from the outside
to deselect a node directly. The derived widget should overwrite this method and change
the node to its unselected state when this is called
Parameters
nodeThe node to be deselected.
get_index_of_node(node, selectable_nodes)
(internal) Returns the index of the node within the selectable_nodes returned by
get_selectable_nodes().
get_selectable_nodes()
(internal) Returns a list of the nodes that can be selected. It can be overwritten by the derived
widget to return the correct list.
This list is used to determine which nodes to select with group selection. E.g. the last
element in the list will be selected when home is pressed, pagedown will move (or add
to, if shift is held) the selection from the current position by negative page_count nodes
starting from the position of the currently selected node in this list and so on. Still, nodes
can be selected even if they are not in this list.
Note: It is safe to dynamically change this list including removing, adding, or re-arranging
its elements. Nodes can be selected even if they are not on this list. And selected nodes
removed from the list will remain selected until deselect_node() is called.
Warning: Layouts display their children in the reverse order. That is, the contents of
children is displayed form right to left, bottom to top. Therefore, internally, the indices
of the elements returned by this function are reversed to make it work by default for
most layouts so that the final result is consistent e.g. home, although it will select the
last element in this list visually, will select the first element when counting from top to
bottom and left to right. If this behavior is not desired, a reversed list should be returned
instead.
Defaults to returning children.
goto_node(key, last_node, last_node_idx)
(internal) Used by the controller to get the node at the position indicated by key. The key can
be keyboard inputs, e.g. pageup, or scroll inputs from the mouse scroll wheel, e.g. scrollup.
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last_node is the last node selected and is used to find the resulting node. For example, if
the key is up, the returned node is one node up from the last node.
It can be overwritten by the derived widget.
Parameters
keystr, the string used to find the desired node. It can be any of the keyboard keys, as well as the mouse scrollup, scrolldown, scrollright,
and scrollleft strings. If letters are typed in quick succession, the letters will be combined before its passed in as key and can be used to
find nodes that have an associated string that starts with those letters.
last_nodeThe last node that was selected.
last_node_idxThe cached index of the last node selected in the
get_selectable_nodes() list. If the list hasnt changed it saves
having to look up the index of last_node in that list.
Returnstuple, the node targeted by key and its index in the
get_selectable_nodes() list. Returning (last_node, last_node_idx)
indicates a node wasnt found.
keyboard_select
Determines whether the keyboard can be used for selection. If False, keyboard inputs will
be ignored.
keyboard_select is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True.
multiselect
Determines whether multiple nodes can be selected. If enabled, keyboard shift and ctrl selection, optionally combined with touch, for example, will be able to select multiple widgets
in the normally expected manner. This dominates touch_multiselect when False.
multiselect is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
nodes_order_reversed
(Internal) Indicates whether the order of the nodes as displayed top- down is reversed compared to their order in get_selectable_nodes() (e.g. how the children property is reversed compared to how its displayed).
page_count
Determines by how much the selected node is moved up or down, relative to the position
of the last selected node, when pageup (or pagedown) is pressed.
page_count is a NumericProperty and defaults to 10.
right_count
of the last selected node, when the right (or left) arrow on the keyboard is pressed.
right_count is a NumericProperty and defaults to 1.
scroll_count
of the last selected node, when the mouse scroll wheel is scrolled.
right_count is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
select_node(node)
Selects a node.
It is called by the controller when it selects a node and can be called from the outside to
select a node directly. The derived widget should overwrite this method and change the
node state to selected when called.
Parameters
nodeThe node to be selected.
Returnsbool, True if the node was selected, False otherwise.
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select_with_key_down(keyboard, scancode, codepoint, modifiers, **kwargs)
Processes a key press. This is called when a key press is to be used for selection. Depending
on the keyboard keys pressed and the configuration, it could select or deselect nodes or node
ranges from the selectable nodes list, get_selectable_nodes().
The parameters are such that it could be bound directly to the on_key_down event of a
keyboard. Therefore, it is safe to be called repeatedly when the key is held down as is done
by the keyboard.
Returnsbool, True if the keypress was used, False otherwise.
select_with_key_up(keyboard, scancode, **kwargs)
(internal) Processes a key release. This must be called by the derived widget when a key
that select_with_key_down() returned True is released.
The parameters are such that it could be bound directly to the on_key_up event of a keyboard.
Returnsbool, True if the key release was used, False otherwise.
select_with_touch(node, touch=None)
(internal) Processes a touch on the node. This should be called by the derived widget when
a node is touched and is to be used for selection. Depending on the keyboard keys pressed
and the configuration, it could select or deslect this and other nodes in the selectable nodes
list, get_selectable_nodes().
Parameters
nodeThe node that recieved the touch. Can be None for a scroll type touch.
touchOptionally, the touch. Defaults to None.
Returnsbool, True if the touch was used, False otherwise.
selected_nodes
The list of selected nodes.
Note: Multiple nodes can be selected right after one another e.g. using the keyboard. When
listening to selected_nodes, one should be aware of this.
selected_nodes is a ListProperty and defaults to the empty list, []. It is read-only and
should not be modified.
touch_multiselect
A special touch mode which determines whether touch events, as processed with
select_with_touch(), will add the currently touched node to the selection, or if it will
clear the selection before adding the node. This allows the selection of multiple nodes by
simply touching them.
This is different from multiselect because when it is True, simply touching an unselected
node will select it, even if ctrl is not pressed. If it is False, however, ctrl must be pressed in
order to add to the selection when multiselect is True.
Note: multiselect, when False, will disable touch_multiselect.
touch_multiselect is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
up_count
of the last selected node, when the up (or down) arrow on the keyboard is pressed.
up_count is a NumericProperty and defaults to 1.
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34.1.8 See DragBehavior for details.

class kivy.uix.behaviors.drag.DragBehavior(**kwargs)
This mixin class provides Drag behavior. When combined with a widget, dragging in the rectangle
defined by drag_rectangle will drag the widget.
For example, to make a popup which is draggable by its title do:
from kivy.uix.behaviors import DragBehavior
from kivy.uix.popup import Popup
class DragPopup(DragBehavior, Popup):
pass
And in .kv do:

<DragPopup>:
drag_rectangle: self.x, self.y+self._container.height, self.width,
drag_timeout: 10000000
drag_distance: 0

drag_distance
Distance to move before dragging the DragBehavior, in pixels. As soon as the distance has
been traveled, the DragBehavior will start to drag, and no touch event will be dispatched
to the children. It is advisable that you base this value on the dpi of your target devices
screen.
drag_distance is a NumericProperty and defaults to the scroll_distance as defined in
the user Config (20 pixels by default).
drag_rect_height
Height of the axis aligned bounding rectangle where dragging is allowed.
drag_rect_height is a NumericProperty and defaults to 100.
drag_rect_width
Width of the axis aligned bounding rectangle where dragging is allowed.
drag_rect_width is a NumericProperty and defaults to 100.
drag_rect_x
X position of the axis aligned bounding rectangle where dragging is allowed (in window
coordinates).
drag_rect_x is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
drag_rect_y
Y position of the axis aligned bounding rectangle where dragging is allowed (in window
coordinates).
drag_rect_Y is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
drag_rectangle
Position and size of the axis aligned bounding rectangle where dragging is allowed.
drag_rectangle is a ReferenceListProperty of (drag_rect_x, drag_rect_y,
drag_rect_width, drag_rect_height) properties.
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self.height
drag_timeout
Timeout allowed to trigger the drag_distance, in milliseconds. If the user has not moved
drag_distance within the timeout, dragging will be disabled, and the touch event will be
dispatched to the children.
drag_timeout is a NumericProperty and defaults to the scroll_timeout as defined in the
user Config (55 milliseconds by defaut).
34.1.9 See FocusBehavior for more details.

class kivy.uix.behaviors.focus.FocusBehavior(**kwargs)
This mixin class provides keyboard focus behavior. When combined with other FocusBehavior
widgets it allows one to cycle focus among them by pressing tab. In addition, upon gaining focus,
the instance will automatically receive keyboard input.
Focus, very different from selection, is intimately tied with the keyboard; each keyboard can focus
on zero or one widgets, and each widget can only have the focus of one keyboard. However,
multiple keyboards can focus simultaneously on different widgets. When escape is hit, the widget
having the focus of that keyboard will de-focus.
In essence, focus is implemented as a doubly linked list, where each node holds a (weak) reference
to the instance before it and after it, as visualized when cycling through the nodes using tab
(forward) or shift+tab (backward). If a previous or next widget is not specified, focus_next
and focus_previous defaults to None. This means that the children list and parents are
walked to find the next focusable widget, unless focus_next or focus_previous is set to the
StopIteration class, in which case focus stops there.
For example, to cycle focus between Button elements of a GridLayout:
class FocusButton(FocusBehavior, Button):
pass
for i in range(40):
grid.add_widget(FocusButton(text=str(i)))
# clicking on a widget will activate focus, and tab can now be used
# to cycle through
When using a software keyboard, typical on mobile and touch devices, the keyboard display
behavior is determined by the softinput_mode property. You can use this property to ensure
the focused widget is not covered or obscured by the keyboard.
focus
Whether the instance currently has focus.
Setting it to True will bind to and/or request the keyboard, and input will be forwarded
to the instance. Setting it to False will unbind and/or release the keyboard. For a given
keyboard, only one widget can have its focus, so focusing one will automatically unfocus
the other instance holding its focus.
When using a software keyboard, please refer to the softinput_mode property to determine how the keyboard display is handled.
focus is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
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focus_next
The FocusBehavior instance to acquire focus when tab is pressed and this instance has
focus, if not None or StopIteration.
When tab is pressed, focus cycles through all the FocusBehavior widgets that are linked
through focus_next and are focusable. If focus_next is None, it instead walks the children lists to find the next focusable widget. Finally, if focus_next is the StopIteration class,
focus wont move forward, but end here.
focus_next is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
focus_previous
The FocusBehavior instance to acquire focus when shift+tab is pressed on this instance,
if not None or StopIteration.
When shift+tab is pressed, focus cycles through all the FocusBehavior widgets that
are linked through focus_previous and are focusable. If focus_previous is None,
it instead walks the children tree to find the previous focusable widget. Finally, if
focus_previous is the StopIteration class, focus wont move backward, but end here.
focus_previous is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
focused
An alias of focus.
focused is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
Warning: focused is an alias of focus and will be removed in 2.0.0.
hide_keyboard()
Convenience function to hide the keyboard in managed mode.
ignored_touch = []
A list of touches that should not be used to defocus. After on_touch_up, every touch that
is not in ignored_touch will defocus all the focused widgets if the config keyboard mode
is not multi. Touches on focusable widgets that were used to focus are automatically added
here.
Example usage:
class Unfocusable(Widget):
FocusBehavior.ignored_touch.append(touch)
Notice that you need to access this as a class, not an instance variable.
input_type
The kind of input keyboard to request.
input_type is an OptionsProperty and defaults to text. Can be one of text, number,
url, mail, datetime, tel or address.
is_focusable
Whether the instance can become focused. If focused, itll lose focus when set to False.
is_focusable is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True on a desktop (i.e. desktop is
True in config), False otherwise.
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keyboard
The keyboard to bind to (or bound to the widget) when focused.
When None, a keyboard is requested and released whenever the widget comes into and
out of focus. If not None, it must be a keyboard, which gets bound and unbound from the
widget whenever its in or out of focus. It is useful only when more than one keyboard is
available, so it is recommended to be set to None when only one keyboard is available.
If more than one keyboard is available, whenever an instance gets focused a new keyboard
will be requested if None. Unless the other instances lose focus (e.g. if tab was used), a
new keyboard will appear. When this is undesired, the keyboard property can be used. For
example, if there are two users with two keyboards, then each keyboard can be assigned
to different groups of instances of FocusBehavior, ensuring that within each group, only
one FocusBehavior will have focus, and will receive input from the correct keyboard. See
keyboard_mode in config for more information on the keyboard modes.
Keyboard and focus behavior
When using the keyboard, there are some important default behaviors you should keep in
mind.
When Configs keyboard_mode is multi, each new touch is considered a touch by a different user and will set the focus (if clicked on a focusable) with a new keyboard.
Already focused elements will not lose their focus (even if an unfocusable widget is
touched).
If the keyboard property is set, that keyboard will be used when the instance gets
focused. If widgets with different keyboards are linked through focus_next and
focus_previous, then as they are tabbed through, different keyboards will become
active. Therefore, typically its undesirable to link instances which are assigned different keyboards.
When a widget has focus, setting its keyboard to None will remove its keyboard, but
the widget will then immediately try to get another keyboard. In order to remove its
keyboard, rather set its focus to False.
When using a software keyboard, typical on mobile and touch devices, the keyboard
display behavior is determined by the softinput_mode property. You can use this
property to ensure the focused widget is not covered or obscured.
keyboard is an AliasProperty and defaults to None.
keyboard_mode
Determines how the keyboard visibility should be managed. auto will result in
the standard behaviour of showing/hiding on focus. managed requires setting the
keyboard visibility manually, or calling the helper functions show_keyboard() and
hide_keyboard().
keyboard_mode is an OptionsProperty and defaults to auto. Can be one of auto or
managed.
keyboard_on_key_down(window, keycode, text, modifiers)
and will be called for every input press.
kivy.core.window.WindowBase.on_key_down().
When overwriting the method in the derived widget, super should be called to enable tab
cycling. If the derived widget wishes to use tab for its own purposes, it can call super after
it has processed the character (if it does not wish to consume the tab).
Similar to other keyboard functions, it should return True if the key was consumed.
keyboard_on_key_up(window, keycode)
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and will be called for every input release.
kivy.core.window.WindowBase.on_key_up().
When overwriting the method in the derived widget, super should be called to enable defocusing on escape. If the derived widget wishes to use escape for its own purposes, it can
call super after it has processed the character (if it does not wish to consume the escape).
See keyboard_on_key_down()
show_keyboard()
Convenience function to show the keyboard in managed mode.
unfocus_on_touch
Whether a instance should lose focus when clicked outside the instance.
When a user clicks on a widget that is focus aware and shares the same keyboard as this
widget (which in the case of only one keyboard, are all focus aware widgets), then as the
other widgets gains focus, this widget loses focus. In addition to that, if this property is
True, clicking on any widget other than this widget, will remove focus form this widget.
unfocus_on_touch is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False if the keyboard_mode in
Config is multi or systemandmulti, otherwise it defaults to True.
34.1.10 See ToggleButtonBehavior for details.

class kivy.uix.behaviors.togglebutton.ToggleButtonBehavior(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.behaviors.button.ButtonBehavior
This mixin class provides ToggleButton behavior. Please see the togglebutton module documentation for more information.
allow_no_selection
This specifies whether the widgets in a group allow no selection i.e. everything to be deselected.
allow_no_selection is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True
static get_widgets(groupname)
Return a list of the widgets contained in a specific group. If the group doesnt exist, an
empty list will be returned.
Note: Always release the result of this method! Holding a reference to any of these widgets
can prevent them from being garbage collected. If in doubt, do:
l = ToggleButtonBehavior.get_widgets('mygroup')
# do your job
del l
Warning: Its possible that some widgets that you have previously deleted are still in
the list. The garbage collector might need to release other objects before flushing them.
group
Group of the button. If None, no group will be used (the button will be independent). If
specified, group must be a hashable object, like a string. Only one button in a group can be
in a down state.
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group is a ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
34.2 Abstract View

New in version 1.5.
The AbstractView widget has an adapter property for an adapter that mediates to data. The adapter
manages an item_view_instance dict property that holds views for each data item, operating as a cache.
class kivy.uix.abstractview.AbstractView(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.floatlayout.FloatLayout
View using an Adapter as a data provider.
adapter
The adapter can be one of several kinds of adapters. The most common example is the
ListAdapter used for managing data items in a list.
34.3 Accordion
The Accordion widget is a form of menu where the options are stacked either vertically or horizontally
and the item in focus (when touched) opens up to display its content.
The Accordion should contain one or many AccordionItem instances, each of which should contain
one root content widget. Youll end up with a Tree something like this:
Accordion
AccordionItem
* YourContent
AccordionItem
* BoxLayout
Another user content 1
Another user content 2
AccordionItem
* Another user content
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The current implementation divides the AccordionItem into two parts:

1. One container for the title bar
2. One container for the content
The title bar is made from a Kv template. Well see how to create a new template to customize the
design of the title bar.
Warning: If you see message like:
[WARNING] [Accordion] not have enough space for displaying all children
[WARNING] [Accordion] need 440px, got 100px
[WARNING] [Accordion] layout aborted.
That means you have too many children and there is no more space to display the content. This is
normal and nothing will be done. Try to increase the space for the accordion or reduce the number
of children. You can also reduce the Accordion.min_space.
34.3.1 Simple example

from kivy.uix.accordion import Accordion, AccordionItem
class AccordionApp(App):
def build(self):
root = Accordion()
for x in range(5):
item = AccordionItem(title='Title %d' % x)
item.add_widget(Label(text='Very big content\n' * 10))
root.add_widget(item)
return root
if __name__ == '__main__':
AccordionApp().run()
34.3.2 Customize the accordion

You can increase the default size of the title bar:
root = Accordion(min_space=60)
Or change the orientation to vertical:

root = Accordion(orientation='vertical')
The AccordionItem is more configurable and you can set your own title background when the item is
collapsed or opened:
item = AccordionItem(background_normal='image_when_collapsed.png',
background_selected='image_when_selected.png')
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class kivy.uix.accordion.Accordion(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.widget.Widget
Accordion class. See module documentation for more information.
anim_duration
Duration of the animation in seconds when a new accordion item is selected.
anim_duration is a NumericProperty and defaults to .25 (250ms).
anim_func
Easing function to use for the animation. Check kivy.animation.AnimationTransition
for more information about available animation functions.
anim_func is an ObjectProperty and defaults to out_expo. You can set a string or a
function to use as an easing function.
min_space
Minimum space to use for the title of each item. This value is automatically set for each child
every time the layout event occurs.
min_space is a NumericProperty and defaults to 44 (px).
orientation
Orientation of the layout.
orientation is an OptionProperty and defaults to horizontal. Can take a value of
vertical or horizontal.
class kivy.uix.accordion.AccordionItem(**kwargs)
AccordionItem class that must be used in conjunction with the Accordion class. See the module
documentation for more information.
accordion
Instance of the Accordion that the item belongs to.
accordion is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
background_disabled_normal
Background image of the accordion item used for the default graphical representation when
the item is collapsed and disabled.
background__disabled_normal is a StringProperty and defaults to atlas://data/images/defaulttheme/button_disabled.
background_disabled_selected
the item is selected (not collapsed) and disabled.
background_disabled_selected is a StringProperty and defaults to atlas://data/images/defaulttheme/button_disabled_pressed.
background_normal
the item is collapsed.
background_normal
is
a
StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/button.
and
defaults
to
at-
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background_selected
the item is selected (not collapsed).
background_normal
is
a
StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/button_pressed.
and
defaults
to
at-
collapse
Boolean to indicate if the current item is collapsed or not.
collapse is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True.
collapse_alpha
Value between 0 and 1 to indicate how much the item is collasped (1) or whether it is selected
(0). Its mostly used for animation.
collapse_alpha is a NumericProperty and defaults to 1.
container
(internal) Property that will be set to the container of children inside the AccordionItem
representation.
container_title
(internal) Property that will be set to the container of title inside the AccordionItem representation.
content_size
(internal) Set by the Accordion to the size allocated for the content.
min_space
Link to the Accordion.min_space property.
orientation
Link to the Accordion.orientation property.
title
Title string of the item. The title might be used in conjuction with the AccordionItemTitle
template. If you are using a custom template, you can use that property as a text entry, or
not. By default, its used for the title text. See title_template and the example below.
title is a StringProperty and defaults to .
title_args
Default arguments that will be passed to the kivy.lang.Builder.template() method.
title_args is a DictProperty and defaults to {}.
title_template
Template to use for creating the title part of the accordion item. The default template is a
simple Label, not customizable (except the text) that supports vertical and horizontal orientation and different backgrounds for collapse and selected mode.
Its better to create and use your own template if the default template does not suffice.
title is a StringProperty and defaults to AccordionItemTitle. The current default
template lives in the kivy/data/style.kv file.
Here is the code if you want to build your own template:
[AccordionItemTitle@Label]:
text: ctx.title
canvas.before:
Color:
rgb: 1, 1, 1
BorderImage:
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source:
ctx.item.background_normal \
if ctx.item.collapse \
else ctx.item.background_selected
pos: self.pos
size: self.size
PushMatrix
Translate:
xy: self.center_x, self.center_y
Rotate:
angle: 90 if ctx.item.orientation == 'horizontal' else 0
axis: 0, 0, 1
Translate:
xy: -self.center_x, -self.center_y
canvas.after:
PopMatrix
exception kivy.uix.accordion.AccordionException
Bases: Exception
AccordionException class.
34.4 Action Bar

The ActionBar widget is like Androids ActionBar , where items are stacked horizontally.
An ActionBar contains an ActionView with various ContextualActionViews. An ActionView
will contain an ActionPrevious having title, app_icon and previous_icon properties.
An
ActionView will contain subclasses of ActionItems.
Some predefined ones inlcude an
ActionButton, an ActionToggleButton, an ActionCheck, an ActionSeparator and an
ActionGroup.
An ActionGroup is used to display ActionItems in a group. An ActionView will always display
an ActionGroup after other ActionItems. An ActionView will contain an ActionOverflow. A
ContextualActionView is a subclass of an ActionView.
exception kivy.uix.actionbar.ActionBarException
Bases: Exception
ActionBarException class
class kivy.uix.actionbar.ActionItem
ActionItem class, an abstract class for all ActionBar widgets. To create a custom widget for an
ActionBar, inherit from this class. See module documentation for more information.
background_down
Background image of the ActionItem used for default graphical representation when an
ActionItem is pressed.
background_down
is
a
StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/action_item_down.
and
defaults
to
at-
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background_normal
Background image of the ActionItem used for the default graphical representation when the
ActionItem is not pressed.
background_normal
is
a
StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/action_item.
and
defaults
to
at-
important
Determines if an ActionItem is important or not.
important is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
inside_group
(internal) Determines if an ActionItem is displayed inside an ActionGroup or not.
inside_group is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
minimum_width
Minimum Width required by an ActionItem.
minimum_width is a NumericProperty and defaults to 90sp.
mipmap
Defines whether the image/icon dispayed on top of the button uses a mipmap or not.
mipmap is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True.
pack_width
(read-only) The actual width to use when packing the item. Equal to the lesser of minimum_width and width.
pack_width is an AliasProperty.
class kivy.uix.actionbar.ActionButton(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.button.Button, kivy.uix.actionbar.ActionItem
ActionButton class, see module documentation for more information.
The text color, width and size_hint_x are set manually via the Kv language file. It covers a lot
of cases: with/without an icon, with/without a group and takes care of the padding between
elements.
You dont have much control over these properties, so if you want to customize its appearance,
we suggest you create you own button representation. You can do this by creating a class that
subclasses an existing widget and an ActionItem:
class MyOwnActionButton(Button, ActionItem):
pass
You can then create your own style using the Kv language.
icon
Source image to use when the Button is part of the ActionBar. If the Button is in a group, the
text will be preferred.
class kivy.uix.actionbar.ActionToggleButton(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.actionbar.ActionItem, kivy.uix.togglebutton.ToggleButton
ActionToggleButton class, see module documentation for more information.
icon
Source image to use when the Button is part of the ActionBar. If the Button is in a group, the
text will be preferred.
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class kivy.uix.actionbar.ActionCheck(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.actionbar.ActionItem, kivy.uix.checkbox.CheckBox
ActionCheck class, see module documentation for more information.
class kivy.uix.actionbar.ActionSeparator(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.actionbar.ActionItem, kivy.uix.widget.Widget
ActionSeparator class, see module documentation for more information.
background_image
Background image for the separators default graphical representation.
background_image
is
a
StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/separator.
and
defaults
to
at-
class kivy.uix.actionbar.ActionDropDown(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.dropdown.DropDown
ActionDropDown class, see module documentation for more information.
class kivy.uix.actionbar.ActionGroup(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.actionbar.ActionItem, kivy.uix.spinner.Spinner
ActionGroup class, see module documentation for more information.
mode
Sets the current mode of an ActionGroup. If mode is normal, the ActionGroups children
will be displayed normally if there is enough space, otherwise they will be displayed in a
spinner. If mode is spinner, then the children will always be displayed in a spinner.
mode is a OptionProperty and defaults to normal.
separator_image
Background Image for an ActionSeparator in an ActionView.
separator_image
is
a
StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/separator.
and
defaults
to
at-
separator_width
Width of the ActionSeparator in an ActionView.
separator_width is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
use_separator
Specifies whether to use a separator after/before this group or not.
use_separator is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
class kivy.uix.actionbar.ActionOverflow(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.actionbar.ActionGroup
ActionOverflow class, see module documentation for more information.
overflow_image
Image to be used as an Overflow Image.
overflow_image is an ObjectProperty anddefaults
las://data/images/defaulttheme/overflow.
to
at-
class kivy.uix.actionbar.ActionView(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.boxlayout.BoxLayout
ActionView class, see module documentation for more information.
action_previous
Previous button for an ActionView.
action_previous is an ObjectPropertyand defaults to None.
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background_color
Background color in the format (r, g, b, a).
background_color is a ListProperty anddefaults to [1, 1, 1, 1].
background_image
Background image of an ActionViews default graphical representation.
background_image
is
an
StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/action_view.
and
defaults
to
at-
instance
of
overflow_group
Widget to be used for the overflow.
overflow_group is
ActionOverflow.
an
ObjectProperty
and
defaults
to
an
use_separator
Specify whether to use a separator before every ActionGroup or not.
use_separator is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
class kivy.uix.actionbar.ContextualActionView(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.actionbar.ActionView
ContextualActionView class, see the module documentation for more information.
class kivy.uix.actionbar.ActionPrevious(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.boxlayout.BoxLayout, kivy.uix.actionbar.ActionItem
ActionPrevious class, see module documentation for more information.
app_icon
Application icon for the ActionView.
app_icon is a StringProperty and defaults to the window icon if set, otherwise
data/logo/kivy-icon-32.png.
app_icon_height
Height of app_icon image.
app_icon_width
Width of app_icon image.
color
Text color, in the format (r, g, b, a)
color is a ListProperty and defaults to [1, 1, 1, 1].
previous_image
Image for the previous ActionButtons default graphical representation.
previous_image
is
a
StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/previous_normal.
previous_image_height
Height of previous_image image.
previous_image_width
Width of previous_image image.
title
Title for ActionView.
title is a StringProperty and defaults to .
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and
defaults
to
at-
with_previous
Specifies whether clicking on ActionPrevious will load the previous screen or not. If True,
the previous_icon will be shown otherwise it will not.
with_previous is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True.
class kivy.uix.actionbar.ActionBar(**kwargs)
ActionBar, see the module documentation for more information.
Events
on_previousFired when action_previous of action_view is pressed.
action_view
action_view of ActionBar.
action_view is an ObjectProperty and defaults to an instance of ActionView.
background_color
Background color, in the format (r, g, b, a).
background_color is a ListProperty anddefaults to [1, 1, 1, 1].
background_image
Background image of the ActionBars default graphical representation.
background_image
is
an
StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/action_bar.
and
defaults
to
at-
border
border to be applied to the background_image.
34.5 Anchor Layout
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The AnchorLayout aligns its children to a border (top, bottom, left, right) or center.
To draw a button in the lower-right corner:
layout = AnchorLayout(
anchor_x='right', anchor_y='bottom')
btn = Button(text='Hello World')
layout.add_widget(btn)
class kivy.uix.anchorlayout.AnchorLayout(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.layout.Layout
Anchor layout class. See the module documentation for more information.
anchor_x
Horizontal anchor.
anchor_x is an OptionProperty and defaults to center. It accepts values of left, center or right.
anchor_y
Vertical anchor.
anchor_y is an OptionProperty and defaults to center. It accepts values of top, center or bottom.
padding
Padding between the widget box and its children, in pixels: [padding_left, padding_top,
padding_right, padding_bottom].
padding also accepts a two argument form [padding_horizontal, padding_vertical] and a
one argument form [padding].
padding is a VariableListProperty and defaults to [0, 0, 0, 0].
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34.6 Box Layout
BoxLayout arranges children in a vertical or horizontal box.

To position widgets above/below each other, use a vertical BoxLayout:
layout = BoxLayout(orientation='vertical')
btn1 = Button(text='Hello')
btn2 = Button(text='World')
layout.add_widget(btn1)
To position widgets next to each other, use a horizontal BoxLayout. In this example, we use 10 pixel
spacing between children; the first button covers 70% of the horizontal space, the second covers 30%:
layout = BoxLayout(spacing=10)
btn1 = Button(text='Hello', size_hint=(.7, 1))
btn2 = Button(text='World', size_hint=(.3, 1))
Position hints are partially working, depending on the orientation:

If the orientation is vertical: x, right and center_x will be used.
If the orientation is horizontal: y, top and center_y will be used.
You can check the examples/widgets/boxlayout_poshint.py for a live example.
Note: The size_hint uses the available space after subtracting all the fixed-size widgets. For example, if
you have a layout that is 800px wide, and add three buttons like this:
btn1 = Button(text=Hello, size=(200, 100), size_hint=(None, None)) btn2 = Button(text=Kivy,
size_hint=(.5, 1)) btn3 = Button(text=World, size_hint=(.5, 1))
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The first button will be 200px wide as specified, the second and third will be 300px each, e.g. (800-200)
* 0.5
Changed in version 1.4.1: Added support for pos_hint.
class kivy.uix.boxlayout.BoxLayout(**kwargs)
Box layout class. See module documentation for more information.
orientation
orientation is an OptionProperty and defaults to horizontal. Can be vertical or
horizontal.
padding
Padding between layout box and children: [padding_left, padding_top, padding_right,
padding_bottom].
Changed in version 1.7.0: Replaced NumericProperty with VariableListProperty.
spacing
Spacing between children, in pixels.
spacing is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
34.7 Bubble
The Bubble widget is a form of menu or a small popup where the menu options are stacked either
vertically or horizontally.
The Bubble contains an arrow pointing in the direction you choose.

'''
Bubble
======
Test of the widget Bubble.
'''
from
from
from
from
444
kivy.app import App

from kivy.uix.bubble import Bubble

<cut_copy_paste>
size_hint: (None, None)
size: (160, 120)
pos_hint: {'center_x': .5, 'y': .6}
BubbleButton:
text: 'Cut'
BubbleButton:
text: 'Copy'
BubbleButton:
text: 'Paste'
''')
class cut_copy_paste(Bubble):
pass
class BubbleShowcase(FloatLayout):
super(BubbleShowcase, self).__init__(**kwargs)
self.but_bubble = Button(text='Press to show bubble')
self.but_bubble.bind(on_release=self.show_bubble)
self.add_widget(self.but_bubble)
def show_bubble(self, *l):
if not hasattr(self, 'bubb'):
self.bubb = bubb = cut_copy_paste()
self.add_widget(bubb)
else:
values = ('left_top', 'left_mid', 'left_bottom', 'top_left',
'top_mid', 'top_right', 'right_top', 'right_mid',
'right_bottom', 'bottom_left', 'bottom_mid', 'bottom_right')
index = values.index(self.bubb.arrow_pos)
self.bubb.arrow_pos = values[(index + 1) % len(values)]
class TestBubbleApp(App):
def build(self):
return BubbleShowcase()
if __name__ == '__main__':
TestBubbleApp().run()
34.7.2 Customize the Bubble

You can choose the direction in which the arrow points:
Bubble(arrow_pos='top_mid')
The widgets added to the Bubble are ordered horizontally by default, like a Boxlayout. You can change
that by:
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orientation = 'vertical'
To add items to the bubble:

bubble = Bubble(orientation = 'vertical')
bubble.add_widget(your_widget_instance)
To remove items:
bubble.remove_widget(widget)
or
bubble.clear_widgets()
To access the list of children, use content.children:

bubble.content.children
Warning: This is important! Do not use bubble.children

To change the appearance of the bubble:
bubble.background_color = (1, 0, 0, .5) #50% translucent red
bubble.border = [0, 0, 0, 0]
background_image = 'path/to/background/image'
arrow_image = 'path/to/arrow/image'
class kivy.uix.bubble.Bubble(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.gridlayout.GridLayout
Bubble class. See module documentation for more information.
arrow_image
Image of the arrow pointing to the bubble.
arrow_image
is
a
StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/bubble_arrow.
and
defaults
to
at-
arrow_pos
Specifies the position of the arrow relative to the bubble. Can be one of: left_top, left_mid,
left_bottom top_left, top_mid, top_right right_top, right_mid, right_bottom bottom_left,
bottom_mid, bottom_right.
arrow_pos is a OptionProperty and defaults to bottom_mid.
background_color
background_color is a ListProperty and defaults to [1, 1, 1, 1].
background_image
Background image of the bubble.
background_image
is
a
StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/bubble.
and
defaults
to
at-
border
Border used for BorderImage graphics instruction. Used with the background_image.
It should be used when using custom backgrounds.
It must be a list of 4 values: (top, right, bottom, left). Read the BorderImage instructions for
more information about how to use it.
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border is a ListProperty and defaults to (16, 16, 16, 16)

content
This is the object where the main content of the bubble is held.
content is a ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
limit_to
Specifies the widget to which the bubbles position is restricted.
limit_to is a ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
orientation
This specifies the manner in which the children inside bubble are arranged. Can be one of
orientation is a OptionProperty and defaults to horizontal.
show_arrow
Indicates whether to show arrow.
show_arrow is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True.
class kivy.uix.bubble.BubbleButton(**kwargs)
A button intended for use in a Bubble widget. You can use a normal button class, but it will not
look good unless the background is changed.
Rather use this BubbleButton widget that is already defined and provides a suitable background
for you.
34.8 Button
The Button is a Label with associated actions that are triggered when the button is pressed (or released after a click/touch). To configure the button, the same properties (padding, font_size, etc) and
sizing system are used as for the Label class:
button = Button(text='Hello world', font_size=14)
To attach a callback when the button is pressed (clicked/touched), use bind:

def callback(instance):
print('The button <%s> is being pressed' % instance.text)
btn1 = Button(text='Hello world 1')
btn1.bind(on_press=callback)
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btn2.bind(on_press=callback)
If you want to be notified every time the button state changes, you can bind to the Button.state
property:
print('My button <%s> state is <%s>' % (instance, value))
btn1.bind(state=callback)
class kivy.uix.button.Button(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.behaviors.button.ButtonBehavior, kivy.uix.label.Label
Button class, see module documentation for more information.
Changed in version 1.8.0:
ButtonBehaviors.
The behavior / logic of the button has been moved to
background_color
This acts as a multiplier to the texture colour. The default texture is grey, so just setting the background color will give a darker result. To set a plain color, set the
background_normal to .
The background_color is a ListProperty and defaults to [1, 1, 1, 1].
background_disabled_down
Background image of the button used for the default graphical representation when the
button is disabled and pressed.
background_disabled_down is a StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/button_disabled_pressed.
and
defaults
to
at-
button is disabled and not pressed.
background_disabled_normal is a StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/button_disabled.
and
defaults
to
at-
background_down
button is pressed.
background_down
is
a
StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/button_pressed.
and
defaults
to
at-
background_normal
button is not pressed.
background_normal
is
a
StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/button.
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and
defaults
to
at-
border
Border used for BorderImage graphics instruction. Used with background_normal and
background_down. Can be used for custom backgrounds.
It must be a list of four values: (top, right, bottom, left). Read the BorderImage instruction
for more information about how to use it.
34.9 Camera
The Camera widget is used to capture and display video from a camera. Once the widget is created,
the texture inside the widget will be automatically updated. Our CameraBase implementation is used
under the hood:
cam = Camera()
By default, the first camera found on your system is used. To use a different camera, set the index
property:
cam = Camera(index=1)
You can also select the camera resolution:

cam = Camera(resolution=(320, 240))
Warning: The camera texture is not updated as soon as you have created the object. The camera
initialization is asynchronous, so there may be a delay before the requested texture is created.
class kivy.uix.camera.Camera(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.image.Image
Camera class. See module documentation for more information.
index
Index of the used camera, starting from 0.
index is a NumericProperty and defaults to -1 to allow auto selection.
play
Boolean indicating whether the camera is playing or not. You can start/stop the camera by
setting this property:
# start the camera playing at creation (default)
cam = Camera(play=True)
# create the camera, and start later
cam = Camera(play=False)
# and later
cam.play = True
play is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True.

resolution
Preferred resolution to use when invoking the camera. If you are using [-1, -1], the resolution
will be the default one:
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# create a camera object with the best image available

cam = Camera()
# create a camera object with an image of 320x240 if possible
cam = Camera(resolution=(320, 240))
Warning: Depending on the implementation, the camera may not respect this property.
resolution is a ListProperty and defaults to [-1, -1].
34.10 Carousel
The Carousel widget provides the classic mobile-friendly carousel view where you can swipe between
slides. You can add any content to the carousel and have it move horizontally or vertically. The carousel
can display pages in a sequence or a loop.
Example:
from kivy.uix.carousel import Carousel
from kivy.uix.image import AsyncImage
class CarouselApp(App):
def build(self):
carousel = Carousel(direction='right')
for i in range(10):
src = "http://placehold.it/480x270.png&text=slide-%d&.png" % i
image = AsyncImage(source=src, allow_stretch=True)
carousel.add_widget(image)
return carousel
CarouselApp().run()
Changed in version 1.5.0: The carousel now supports active children, like the ScrollView.
It will detect a swipe gesture according to the Carousel.scroll_timeout and
Carousel.scroll_distance properties.
In addition, the slide container is no longer exposed by the API. The impacted properties are Carousel.slides, Carousel.current_slide, Carousel.previous_slide and
Carousel.next_slide.
class kivy.uix.carousel.Carousel(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.stencilview.StencilView
Carousel class. See module documentation for more information.
anim_cancel_duration
Defines the duration of the animation when a swipe movement is not accepted. This is
generally when the user does not make a large enough swipe. See min_move.
anim_cancel_duration is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.3.
anim_move_duration
Defines the duration of the Carousel animation between pages.
450
anim_move_duration is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.5.

anim_type
Type of animation to use while animating to the next/previous slide. This should be the
name of an AnimationTransition function.
anim_type is a StringProperty and defaults to out_quad.
current_slide
The currently shown slide.
current_slide is an AliasProperty.
Changed in version 1.5.0: The property no longer exposes the slides container. It returns the
widget you have added.
direction
Specifies the direction in which the slides are ordered. This corresponds to the direction
from which the user swipes to go from one slide to the next. It can be right, left, top, or
bottom. For example, with the default value of right, the second slide is to the right of the
first and the user would swipe from the right towards the left to get to the second slide.
direction is an OptionProperty and defaults to right.
index
Get/Set the current slide based on the index.
index is an AliasProperty and defaults to 0 (the first item).
load_next(mode=next)
Animate to the next slide.
load_previous()
Animate to the previous slide.
load_slide(slide)
Animate to the slide that is passed as the argument.
loop
Allow the Carousel to loop infinitely. If True, when the user tries to swipe beyond last page,
it will return to the first. If False, it will remain on the last page.
loop is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
min_move
Defines the minimum distance to be covered before the touch is considered a swipe gesture
and the Carousel content changed. This is a percentage of the Carousel width. If the movement doesnt reach this minimum value, then the movement is cancelled and the content is
restored to its original position.
min_move is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.2.
next_slide
The next slide in the Carousel. It is None if the current slide is the last slide in the Carousel.
This ordering reflects the order in which the slides are added: their presentation varies according to the direction property.
next_slide is an AliasProperty.
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Changed in version 1.5.0: The property no longer exposes the slides container. It returns the
widget you have added.
previous_slide
The previous slide in the Carousel. It is None if the current slide is the first slide in the
Carousel. This ordering reflects the order in which the slides are added: their presentation
varies according to the direction property.
previous_slide is an AliasProperty.
Changed in version 1.5.0: This property no longer exposes the slides container. It returns
the widget you have added.
scroll_distance
Distance to move before scrolling the Carousel in pixels. As soon as the distance has been
traveled, the Carousel will start to scroll, and no touch event will go to children. It is
advisable that you base this value on the dpi of your target devices screen.
scroll_distance is a NumericProperty and defaults to 20dp.
scroll_timeout
Timeout allowed to trigger the scroll_distance, in milliseconds. If the user has not
moved scroll_distance within the timeout, no scrolling will occur and the touch event
will go to the children.
scroll_timeout is a NumericProperty and defaults to 200 (milliseconds)
slides
List of slides inside the Carousel. The slides are the widgets added to the Carousel using the
add_widget method.
slides is a ListProperty and is read-only.
34.11 CheckBox
CheckBox is a specific two-state button that can be either checked or unchecked. If the CheckBox is in
a Group, it becomes a Radio button. As with the ToggleButton, only one Radio button at a time can
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be selected when the CheckBox.group is set.

An example usage:
from kivy.uix.checkbox import CheckBox
# ...
def on_checkbox_active(checkbox, value):
if value:
print('The checkbox', checkbox, 'is active')
else:
print('The checkbox', checkbox, 'is inactive')
checkbox = CheckBox()
checkbox.bind(active=on_checkbox_active)
class kivy.uix.checkbox.CheckBox(**kwargs)
Bases:
kivy.uix.behaviors.togglebutton.ToggleButtonBehavior,
kivy.uix.widget.Widget
CheckBox class, see module documentation for more information.
active
Indicates if the switch is active or inactive.
active is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
background_checkbox_disabled_down
Background image of the checkbox used for the default graphical representation when the
checkbox is disabled and active.
background_checkbox_disabled_down is a StringProperty and defaults to atlas://data/images/defaulttheme/checkbox_disabled_on.
background_checkbox_disabled_normal
checkbox is disabled and not active.
background_checkbox_disabled_normal is a StringProperty and defaults to atlas://data/images/defaulttheme/checkbox_disabled_off.
background_checkbox_down
checkbox is active.
background_checkbox_down is a StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/checkbox_on.
and
defaults
to
at-
background_checkbox_normal
checkbox is not active.
background_checkbox_normal is a StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/checkbox_off.
and
defaults
to
at-
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background_radio_disabled_down
Background image of the radio button used for the default graphical representation when
the radio button is disabled and active.
background_radio_disabled_down is a StringProperty and defaults to atlas://data/images/defaulttheme/checkbox_radio_disabled_on.
background_radio_disabled_normal
the radio button is disabled and not active.
background_radio_disabled_normal is a StringProperty and defaults to atlas://data/images/defaulttheme/checkbox_radio_disabled_off.
background_radio_down
the radio button is active.
background_radio_down is a StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/checkbox_radio_on.
and
defaults
to
at-
background_radio_normal
the radio button is not active.
background_radio_normal is a StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/checkbox_radio_off.
and
defaults
to
at-
34.12 Code Input

The CodeInput provides a box of editable highlighted text like the one shown in the image.
It supports all the features provided by the textinput as well as code highlighting for languages
supported by pygments along with KivyLexer for kivy.lang highlighting.
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34.12.1 Usage example

To create a CodeInput with highlighting for KV language:
from kivy.uix.codeinput import CodeInput
from kivy.extras.highlight import KivyLexer
codeinput = CodeInput(lexer=KivyLexer())
To create a CodeInput with highlighting for Cython:

from kivy.uix.codeinput import CodeInput
from pygments.lexers import CythonLexer
codeinput = CodeInput(lexer=CythonLexer())
class kivy.uix.codeinput.CodeInput(**kwargs)
Bases:
kivy.uix.behaviors.codenavigation.CodeNavigationBehavior,
kivy.uix.textinput.TextInput
CodeInput class, used for displaying highlighted code.
lexer
This holds the selected Lexer used by pygments to highlight the code.
lexer is an ObjectProperty and defaults to PythonLexer.
style
The pygments style object to use for formatting.
When style_name is set, this will be changed to the corresponding style object.
style is a ObjectProperty and defaults to None
style_name
Name of the pygments style to use for formatting.
style_name is an OptionProperty and defaults to default.
34.13 Color Picker

Warning: This widget is experimental. Its use and API can change at any time until this warning is
removed.
The ColorPicker widget allows a user to select a color from a chromatic wheel where pinch and zoom
can be used to change the wheels saturation. Sliders and TextInputs are also provided for entering the
RGBA/HSV/HEX values directly.
Usage:
clr_picker = ColorPicker()
parent.add_widget(clr_picker)
# To monitor changes, we can bind to color property changes
def on_color(instance, value):
print "RGBA = ", str(value) # or instance.color
print "HSV = ", str(instance.hsv)
print "HEX = ", str(instance.hex_color)
clr_picker.bind(color=on_color)
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class kivy.uix.colorpicker.ColorPicker(**kwargs)
See module documentation.
color
The color holds the color currently selected in rgba format.
color is a ListProperty and defaults to (1, 1, 1, 1).
font_name
Specifies the font used on the ColorPicker.
font_name is a StringProperty and defaults to data/fonts/RobotoMono-Regular.ttf.
hex_color
The hex_color holds the currently selected color in hex.
hex_color is an AliasProperty and defaults to #ffffffff.
hsv
The hsv holds the color currently selected in hsv format.
hsv is a ListProperty and defaults to (1, 1, 1).
wheel
The wheel holds the color wheel.
wheel is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
class kivy.uix.colorpicker.ColorWheel(**kwargs)
Chromatic wheel for the ColorPicker.
Changed in version 1.7.1: font_size, font_name and foreground_color have been removed. The sizing
is now the same as others widget, based on sp. Orientation is also automatically determined
according to the width/height ratio.
a
The Alpha value of the color currently selected.
a is a BoundedNumericProperty and can be a value from 0 to 1.
b
The Blue value of the color currently selected.
b is a BoundedNumericProperty and can be a value from 0 to 1.
color
The holds the color currently selected.
color is a ReferenceListProperty and contains a list of r, g, b, a values.
g
The Green value of the color currently selected.
g is a BoundedNumericProperty and can be a value from 0 to 1.
r
The Red value of the color currently selected.
r is a BoundedNumericProperty and can be a value from 0 to 1. It defaults to 0.
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34.14 Drop-Down List

A versatile drop-down list that can be used with custom widgets. It allows you to display a list of
widgets under a displayed widget. Unlike other toolkits, the list of widgets can contain any type of
widget: simple buttons, images etc.
The positioning of the drop-down list is fully automatic: we will always try to place the dropdown list
in a way that the user can select an item in the list.
34.14.1 Basic example

A button with a dropdown list of 10 possible values. All the buttons within the dropdown list will
trigger the dropdown DropDown.select() method. After being called, the main button text will
display the selection of the dropdown.
from kivy.uix.dropdown import DropDown
# create a dropdown with 10 buttons
dropdown = DropDown()
for index in range(10):
# when adding widgets, we need to specify the height manually (disabling
# the size_hint_y) so the dropdown can calculate the area it needs.
btn = Button(text='Value %d' % index, size_hint_y=None, height=44)
# for each button, attach a callback that will call the select() method
# on the dropdown. We'll pass the text of the button as the data of the
# selection.
btn.bind(on_release=lambda btn: dropdown.select(btn.text))
# then add the button inside the dropdown
dropdown.add_widget(btn)
# create a big main button
mainbutton = Button(text='Hello', size_hint=(None, None))
# show the dropdown menu when the main button is released
# note: all the bind() calls pass the instance of the caller (here, the
# mainbutton instance) as the first argument of the callback (here,
# dropdown.open.).
mainbutton.bind(on_release=dropdown.open)
# one last thing, listen for the selection in the dropdown list and
# assign the data to the button text.
dropdown.bind(on_select=lambda instance, x: setattr(mainbutton, 'text', x))
runTouchApp(mainbutton)
34.14.2 Extending dropdown in Kv

You could create a dropdown directly from your kv:
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#:kivy 1.4.0
<CustomDropDown>:
Button:
text: 'My first Item'
size_hint_y: None
height: 44
on_release: root.select('item1')
Label:
text: 'Unselectable item'
size_hint_y: None
height: 44
Button:
text: 'My second Item'
size_hint_y: None
height: 44
on_release: root.select('item2')
And then, create the associated python class and use it:
class CustomDropDown(DropDown):
pass
dropdown = CustomDropDown()
mainbutton = Button(text='Hello', size_hint=(None, None))
mainbutton.bind(on_release=dropdown.open)
dropdown.bind(on_select=lambda instance, x: setattr(mainbutton, 'text', x))
class kivy.uix.dropdown.DropDown(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.scrollview.ScrollView
DropDown class. See module documentation for more information.
Events
on_select: dataFired when a selection is done. The data of the selection is passed
in as the first argument and is what you pass in the select() method as
the first argument.
on_dismiss:New in version 1.8.0.
Fired when the DropDown is dismissed, either on selection or on touching
outside the widget.
attach_to
(internal) Property that will be set to the widget to which the drop down list is attached.
The open() method will automatically set this property whilst dismiss() will set it back
to None.
auto_dismiss
By default, the dropdown will be automatically dismissed when a touch happens outside of
it, this option allow to disable this feature
auto_dismiss is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True.
auto_width
By default, the width of the dropdown will be the same as the width of the attached widget.
Set to False if you want to provide your own width.
container
(internal) Property that will be set to the container of the dropdown list. It is a GridLayout
by default.
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dismiss(*largs)
Remove the dropdown widget from the window and detach it from the attached widget.
dismiss_on_select
By default, the dropdown will be automatically dismissed when a selection has been done.
Set to False to prevent the dismiss.
dismiss_on_select is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True.
max_height
Indicate the maximum height that the dropdown can take. If None, it will take the maximum
height available until the top or bottom of the screen is reached.
max_height is a NumericProperty and defaults to None.
open(widget)
Open the dropdown list and attach it to a specific widget. Depending on the position of the
widget within the window and the height of the dropdown, the dropdown might be above
or below that widget.
select(data)
Call this method to trigger the on_select event with the data selection. The data can be anything you want.
34.15 EffectWidget
New in version 1.9.0: This code is still experimental, and its API is subject to change in a future version.
The EffectWidget is able to apply a variety of fancy graphical effects to its children. It works by rendering to a series of Fbo instances with custom opengl fragment shaders. As such, effects can freely do
almost anything, from inverting the colors of the widget, to anti-aliasing, to emulating the appearance
of a crt monitor!
The basic usage is as follows:
w = EffectWidget()
w.add_widget(Button(text='Hello!')
w.effects = [InvertEffect(), HorizontalBlurEffect(size=2.0)]
The equivalent in kv would be:

#: import ew kivy.uix.effectwidget
EffectWidget:
effects: ew.InvertEffect(), ew.HorizontalBlurEffect(size=2.0)
Button:
text: 'Hello!'
The effects can be a list of effects of any length, and they will be applied sequentially.
The module comes with a range of prebuilt effects, but the interface is designed to make it easy to create
your own. Instead of writing a full glsl shader, you provide a single function that takes some inputs
based on the screen (current pixel color, current widget texture etc.). See the sections below for more
information.
34.15.1 Usage Guidelines

It is not efficient to resize an EffectWidget, as the Fbo is recreated on each resize event. If you need
to resize frequently, consider doing things a different way.
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Although some effects have adjustable parameters, it is not efficient to animate these, as the entire shader is reconstructed every time. You should use glsl uniform variables instead. The
AdvancedEffectBase may make this easier.
Note: The EffectWidget cannot draw outside its own widget area (pos -> pos + size). Any child
widgets overlapping the boundary will be cut off at this point.
34.15.2 Provided Effects

The module comes with several pre-written effects. Some have adjustable properties (e.g. blur radius).
Please see the individual effect documentation for more details.
MonochromeEffect - makes the widget grayscale.
InvertEffect - inverts the widget colors.
ChannelMixEffect - swaps color channels.
ScanlinesEffect - displays flickering scanlines.
PixelateEffect - pixelates the image.
HorizontalBlurEffect - Gaussuan blurs horizontally.
VerticalBlurEffect - Gaussuan blurs vertically.
FXAAEffect - applies a very basic anti-aliasing.
34.15.3 Creating Effects

Effects are designed to make it easy to create and use your own transformations. You do this by creating
and using an instance of EffectBase with your own custom EffectBase.glsl property.
The glsl property is a string representing part of a glsl fragment shader. You can include as many
functions as you like (the string is simply spliced into the whole shader), but it must implement a
function effect as below:
vec4 effect(vec4 color, sampler2D texture, vec2 tex_coords, vec2 coords)
{
// ... your code here
return something; // must be a vec4 representing the new color
}
The full shader will calculate the normal pixel color at each point, then call your effect function to
transform it. The parameters are:
color: The normal color of the current pixel (i.e. texture sampled at tex_coords).
texture: The texture containing the widgets normal background.
tex_coords: The normal texture_coords used to access texture.
coords: The pixel indices of the current pixel.
The shader code also has access to two useful uniform variables, time containing the time (in seconds)
since the program start, and resolution containing the shape (x pixels, y pixels) of the widget.
For instance, the following simple string (taken from the InvertEffect) would invert the input color but
set alpha to 1.0:
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vec4 effect(vec4 color, sampler2D texture, vec2 tex_coords, vec2 coords)

{
return vec4(1.0 - color.xyz, 1.0);
}
You can also set the glsl by automatically loading the string from a file, simply set the
EffectBase.source property of an effect.
class kivy.uix.effectwidget.EffectWidget(**kwargs)
Widget with the ability to apply a series of graphical effects to its children. See the module documentation for more information on setting effects and creating your own.
background_color
This defines the background color to be used for the fbo in the EffectWidget.
background_color is a ListProperty defaults to (0, 0, 0, 0)
effects
List of all the effects to be applied.
EffectBase.
These should all be instances or subclasses of
effects is a ListProperty and defaults to [].

fbo_list
(internal) List of all the fbos that are being used to apply the effects.
fbo_list is a ListProperty and defaults to [].
refresh_fbo_setup(*args)
(internal) Creates and assigns one Fbo per effect, and makes sure all sizes etc. are correct
and consistent.
texture
The output texture of the final Fbo after all effects have been applied.
texture is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
class kivy.uix.effectwidget.EffectBase(*args, **kwargs)
The base class for GLSL effects. It simply returns its input.
See the module documentation for more details.
fbo
The fbo currently using this effect. The EffectBase automatically handles this.
fbo is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
glsl
The glsl string defining your effect function. See the module documentation for more details.
glsl is a StringProperty and defaults to a trivial effect that returns its input.
set_fbo_shader(*args)
Sets the Fbos shader by splicing the glsl string into a full fragment shader.
The full shader is made up of shader_header + shader_uniforms + self.glsl +
shader_footer_effect.
source
The (optional) filename from which to load the glsl string.
source is a StringProperty and defaults to .
461
class kivy.uix.effectwidget.AdvancedEffectBase(*args, **kwargs)

Bases: kivy.uix.effectwidget.EffectBase
An EffectBase with additional behavior to easily set and update uniform variables in your
shader.
This class is provided for convenience when implementing your own effects: it is not used by any
of those provided with Kivy.
In addition to your base glsl string that must be provided as normal, the AdvancedEffectBase
has an extra property uniforms, a dictionary of name-value pairs. Whenever a value is changed,
the new value for the uniform variable is uploaded to the shader.
You must still manually declare your uniform variables at the top of your glsl string.
uniforms
A dictionary of uniform variable names and their values. These are automatically uploaded
to the fbo shader if appropriate.
uniforms is a DictProperty and defaults to {}.
class kivy.uix.effectwidget.MonochromeEffect(*args, **kwargs)
Returns its input colors in monochrome.
class kivy.uix.effectwidget.InvertEffect(*args, **kwargs)
Inverts the colors in the input.
class kivy.uix.effectwidget.ChannelMixEffect(*args, **kwargs)
Mixes the color channels of the input according to the order property. Channels may be arbitrarily
rearranged or repeated.
order
The new sorted order of the rgb channels.
order is a ListProperty and defaults to [1, 2, 0], corresponding to (g, b, r).
class kivy.uix.effectwidget.ScanlinesEffect(*args, **kwargs)
Adds scanlines to the input.
class kivy.uix.effectwidget.PixelateEffect(*args, **kwargs)
Pixelates the input according to its pixel_size
pixel_size
Sets the size of a new pixel in the effect, in terms of number of real pixels.
pixel_size is a NumericProperty and defaults to 10.
class kivy.uix.effectwidget.HorizontalBlurEffect(*args, **kwargs)
Blurs the input horizontally, with the width given by size.
size
The blur width in pixels.
size is a NumericProperty and defaults to 4.0.
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class kivy.uix.effectwidget.VerticalBlurEffect(*args, **kwargs)

Blurs the input vertically, with the width given by size.
size
The blur width in pixels.
size is a NumericProperty and defaults to 4.0.
class kivy.uix.effectwidget.FXAAEffect(*args, **kwargs)
Applies very simple anti-aliasing via fxaa.
34.16 FileChooser
The FileChooser module provides various classes for describing, displaying and browsing file systems.
34.16.1 Simple widgets

There are two ready-to-use widgets that provide views of the file system. Each of these present the files
and folders in a different style.
The FileChooserListView displays file entries as text items in a vertical list, where folders can be
collapsed and expanded.
The FileChooserIconView presents icons and text from left to right, wrappping them as required.
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They both provide for scrolling, selection and basic user interaction.
FileChooserController for details on supported events and properties.
Please refer to the
34.16.2 Widget composition

FileChooser classes adopt a MVC design. They are exposed so that you to extend and customize your
file chooser according to your needs.
The FileChooser classes can be categorized as follows:
Models are represented by concrete implementations of the FileSystemAbstract class, such
as the FileSystemLocal.
Views are represented by the FileChooserListLayout and FileChooserIconLayout
classes. These are used by the FileChooserListView and FileChooserIconView widgets
respectively.
Controllers are represented by concrete implementations of the FileChooserController,
namely the FileChooser, FileChooserIconView and FileChooserListView classes.
This means you can define your own views or provide FileSystemAbstract implementations for
alternative file systems for use with these widgets. The FileChooser can be used as a controller for
handling multiple, synchronized views of the same path. By combining these elements, you can add
your own views and file systems and have them easily interact with the existing components.

main.py
from
from
from
from
from
464
kivy.app import App

kivy.factory import Factory
kivy.properties import ObjectProperty
kivy.uix.popup import Popup
import os
class LoadDialog(FloatLayout):
load = ObjectProperty(None)
cancel = ObjectProperty(None)
class SaveDialog(FloatLayout):
save = ObjectProperty(None)
text_input = ObjectProperty(None)
cancel = ObjectProperty(None)
class Root(FloatLayout):
loadfile = ObjectProperty(None)
savefile = ObjectProperty(None)
text_input = ObjectProperty(None)
def dismiss_popup(self):
self._popup.dismiss()
def show_load(self):
content = LoadDialog(load=self.load, cancel=self.dismiss_popup)
self._popup = Popup(title="Load file", content=content,
size_hint=(0.9, 0.9))
self._popup.open()
def show_save(self):
content = SaveDialog(save=self.save, cancel=self.dismiss_popup)
self._popup = Popup(title="Save file", content=content,
size_hint=(0.9, 0.9))
self._popup.open()
def load(self, path, filename):
with open(os.path.join(path, filename[0])) as stream:
self.text_input.text = stream.read()
self.dismiss_popup()
def save(self, path, filename):
with open(os.path.join(path, filename), 'w') as stream:
stream.write(self.text_input.text)
self.dismiss_popup()
class Editor(App):
pass
Factory.register('Root', cls=Root)
Factory.register('LoadDialog', cls=LoadDialog)
Factory.register('SaveDialog', cls=SaveDialog)
if __name__ == '__main__':
Editor().run()
editor.kv
465
#:kivy 1.1.0
Root:
text_input: text_input
BoxLayout:
BoxLayout:
size_hint_y: None
height: 30
Button:
text: 'Load'
on_release: root.show_load()
Button:
text: 'Save'
on_release: root.show_save()
BoxLayout:
TextInput:
id: text_input
text: ''
RstDocument:
text: text_input.text
show_errors: True
<LoadDialog>:
BoxLayout:
size: root.size
pos: root.pos
orientation: "vertical"
FileChooserListView:
id: filechooser
BoxLayout:
size_hint_y: None
height: 30
Button:
text: "Cancel"
on_release: root.cancel()
Button:
text: "Load"
on_release: root.load(filechooser.path, filechooser.selection)
<SaveDialog>:
text_input: text_input
BoxLayout:
size: root.size
pos: root.pos
orientation: "vertical"
FileChooserListView:
id: filechooser
on_selection: text_input.text = self.selection and self.selection[0] or ''
TextInput:
id: text_input
size_hint_y: None
height: 30
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multiline: False
BoxLayout:
size_hint_y: None
height: 30
Button:
text: "Cancel"
on_release: root.cancel()
Button:
text: "Save"
on_release: root.save(filechooser.path, text_input.text)

Changed in version 1.2.0: In the chooser template, the controller is no longer a direct reference
but a weak-reference. If you are upgrading, you should change the notation root.controller.xxx to
root.controller().xxx.
class kivy.uix.filechooser.FileChooserListView(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.filechooser.FileChooserController
Implementation of a FileChooserController using a list view.
class kivy.uix.filechooser.FileChooserIconView(**kwargs)
Implementation of a FileChooserController using an icon view.
class kivy.uix.filechooser.FileChooserListLayout(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.filechooser.FileChooserLayout
File chooser layout using a list view.
class kivy.uix.filechooser.FileChooserIconLayout(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.filechooser.FileChooserLayout
File chooser layout using an icon view.
class kivy.uix.filechooser.FileChooser(**kwargs)
Implementation of a FileChooserController which supports switching between multiple,
synced layout views.
The FileChooser can be used as follows:
BoxLayout:
BoxLayout:
size_hint_y: None
height: sp(52)
Button:
text: 'Icon View'
on_press: fc.view_mode = 'icon'
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Button:
text: 'List View'
on_press: fc.view_mode = 'list'
FileChooser:
id: fc
FileChooserIconLayout
FileChooserListLayout

manager
Reference to the ScreenManager instance.
manager is an ObjectProperty.
view_list
List of views added to this FileChooser.
view_list is an AliasProperty of type list.
view_mode
Current layout view mode.
view_mode is an AliasProperty of type str.
class kivy.uix.filechooser.FileChooserController(**kwargs)
Base for implementing a FileChooser. Dont use this class directly, but prefer using an implementation such as the FileChooser, FileChooserListView or FileChooserIconView.
Events
on_entry_added: entry, parentFired when a root-level entry is added to the file
list.
on_entries_clearedFired when the the entries list is cleared, usually when the
root is refreshed.
on_subentry_to_entry: entry, parentFired when a sub-entry is added to an existing entry or when entries are removed from an entry e.g. when a node is
closed.
on_submit: selection, touchFired when a file has been selected with a doubletap.
cancel(*largs)
Cancel any background action started by filechooser, such as loading a new directory.
dirselect
Determines whether directories are valid selections or not.
dirselect is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
entry_released(entry, touch)
(internal) This method must be called by the template when an entry is touched by the user.
entry_touched(entry, touch)
(internal) This method must be called by the template when an entry is touched by the user.
file_encodings
Possible encodings for decoding a filename to unicode. In the case that the user has a non-
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ascii filename, undecodable without knowing its initial encoding, we have no other choice
than to guess it.
Please note that if you encounter an issue because of a missing encoding here, well be glad
to add it to this list.
file_encodings is a ListProperty and defaults to [utf-8, latin1, cp1252].
Deprecated since version 1.8.0: This property is no longer used as the filechooser no longer
decodes the file names.
file_system
The file system object used to access the file system.
FileSystemAbstract.
This should be a subclass of
file_system is an ObjectProperty and defaults to FileSystemLocal()

files
The list of files in the directory specified by path after applying the filters.
files is a read-only ListProperty.
filter_dirs
Indicates whether filters should also apply to directories. filter_dirs is a BooleanProperty
and defaults to False.
filters
filters specifies the filters to be applied to the files in the directory. filters is a ListProperty
and defaults to []. This is equivalent to * i.e. nothing is filtered.
The filters are not reset when the path changes. You need to do that yourself if desired.
There are two kinds of filters: patterns and callbacks.
1.Patterns
e.g. [*.png]. You can use the following patterns:
Pattern
Meaning
*
matches everything
?
matches any single character
[seq]
matches any character in seq
[!seq]
matches any character not in seq
2.Callbacks
You can specify a function that will be called for each file. The callback
will be passed the folder and file name as the first and second parameters
respectively. It should return True to indicate a match and False otherwise.
Changed in version 1.4.0: Added the option to specify the filter as a callback.
get_nice_size(fn)
Pass the filepath. Returns the size in the best human readable format or if it is a directory
(Dont recursively calculate size).
layout
Reference to the layout widget instance.
layout is an ObjectProperty.
multiselect
Determines whether the user is able to select multiple files or not.
multiselect is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
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path
path is a StringProperty and defaults to the current working directory as a unicode
string. It specifies the path on the filesystem that this controller should refer to.
Warning: If a unicode path is specified, all the files returned will be in unicode, allowing
the display of unicode files and paths. If a bytes path is specified, only files and paths
with ascii names will be displayed properly: non-ascii filenames will be displayed and
listed with questions marks (?) instead of their unicode characters.
progress_cls
Class to use for displaying a progress indicator for filechooser loading.
progress_cls is an ObjectProperty and defaults to FileChooserProgress.
Changed in version 1.8.0: If set to a string, the Factory will be used to resolve the class
name.
rootpath
Root path to use instead of the system root path. If set, it will not show a .. directory to go
up to the root path. For example, if you set rootpath to /users/foo, the user will be unable
to go to /users or to any other directory not starting with /users/foo.
rootpath is a StringProperty and defaults to None.
Note: Similarly to path, whether rootpath is specified as bytes or a unicode string determines the type of the filenames and paths read.
selection
Contains the list of files that are currently selected.
selection is a read-only ListProperty and defaults to [].
show_hidden
Determines whether hidden files and folders should be shown.
show_hidden is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
sort_func
Provides a function to be called with a list of filenames as the first argument and the filesystem implementation as the second argument. It returns a list of filenames sorted for display
in the view.
sort_func is an ObjectProperty and defaults to a function returning alphanumerically
named folders first.
Changed in version 1.8.0: The signature needs now 2 arguments: first the list of files, second
the filesystem class to use.
class kivy.uix.filechooser.FileChooserProgressBase(**kwargs)
Base for implementing a progress view. This view is used when too many entries need to be
created and are delayed over multiple frames.
cancel(*largs)
Cancel any action from the FileChooserController.
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index
Current index of total entries to be loaded.
path
Current path of the FileChooser, read-only.
total
Total number of entries to load.
class kivy.uix.filechooser.FileSystemAbstract
Class for implementing a File System view that can be used with the FileChooser.
getsize(fn)
Return the size in bytes of a file
is_dir(fn)
Return True if the argument passed to this method is a directory
is_hidden(fn)
Return True if the file is hidden
listdir(fn)
Return the list of files in the directory fn
class kivy.uix.filechooser.FileSystemLocal
Bases: kivy.uix.filechooser.FileSystemAbstract
Implementation of FileSystemAbstract for local files.
34.17 Float Layout

FloatLayout honors the pos_hint and the size_hint properties of its children.
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For example, a FloatLayout with a size of (300, 300) is created:

layout = FloatLayout(size=(300, 300))
By default, all widgets have their size_hint=(1, 1), so this button will adopt the same size as the layout:
button = Button(text='Hello world')
layout.add_widget(button)
To create a button 50% of the width and 25% of the height of the layout and positioned at (20, 20), you
can do:
button = Button(
text='Hello world',
size_hint=(.5, .25),
pos=(20, 20))
If you want to create a button that will always be the size of layout minus 20% on each side:
button = Button(text='Hello world', size_hint=(.6, .6),
pos_hint={'x':.2, 'y':.2})
Note: This layout can be used for an application. Most of the time, you will use the size of Window.
Warning: If you are not using pos_hint, you must handle the positioning of the children: if the float
layout is moving, you must handle moving the children too.
class kivy.uix.floatlayout.FloatLayout(**kwargs)
Float layout class. See module documentation for more information.
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34.18 Gesture Surface

class kivy.uix.gesturesurface.GestureSurface(**kwargs)
Simple gesture surface to track/draw touch movements. Typically used to gather user input
suitable for kivy.multistroke.Recognizer.
Properties
temporal_windowTime to wait from the last touch_up event before attempting
to recognize the gesture. If you set this to 0, the on_gesture_complete event
is not fired unless the max_strokes condition is met.
temporal_window is a NumericProperty and defaults to 2.0
max_strokesMax number of strokes in a single gesture; if this is reached, recognition will start immediately on the final touch_up event. If this is set to
0, the on_gesture_complete event is not fired unless the temporal_window
expires.
max_strokes is a NumericProperty and defaults to 2.0
bbox_marginBounding box margin for detecting gesture collisions, in pixels.
bbox_margin is a NumericProperty and defaults to 30
draw_timeoutNumber of seconds to keep lines/bbox on canvas after the
on_gesture_complete event is fired. If this is set to 0, gestures are immediately removed from the surface when complete.
draw_timeout is a NumericProperty and defaults to 3.0
colorColor used to draw the gesture, in RGB. This option does not have an effect
if use_random_color is True.
draw_timeout is a ListProperty and defaults to [1, 1, 1] (white)
use_random_colorSet to True to pick a random color for each gesture, if you do
this then color is ignored. Defaults to False.
use_random_color is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False
line_widthLine width used for tracing touches on the surface. Set to 0 if you
only want to detect gestures without drawing anything. If you use 1.0,
OpenGL GL_LINE is used for drawing; values > 1 will use an internal
drawing method based on triangles (less efficient), see kivy.graphics.
line_width is a NumericProperty and defaults to 2
draw_bboxSet to True if you want to draw bounding box behind gestures. This
only works if line_width >= 1. Default is False.
draw_bbox is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True
bbox_alphaOpacity for bounding box if draw_bbox is True. Default 0.1
bbox_alpha is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.1
Events
on_gesture_start GestureContainerFired when a new gesture is initiated on
the surface, ie the first on_touch_down that does not collide with an existing gesture on the surface.
on_gesture_extend GestureContainerFired when a touch_down event occurs
within an existing gesture.
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on_gesture_merge GestureContainer, GestureContainerFired when two

gestures collide and get merged to one gesture. The first argument is the
gesture that has been merged (no longer valid); the second is the combined
(resulting) gesture.
on_gesture_complete GestureContainerFired when a set of strokes is considered a complete gesture, this happens when temporal_window expires or
max_strokes is reached. Typically you will bind to this event and use the
provided GestureContainer get_vectors() method to match against your gesture database.
on_gesture_cleanup GestureContainerFired draw_timeout seconds after
on_gesture_complete, The gesture will be removed from the canvas (if
line_width > 0 or draw_bbox is True) and the internal gesture list before
this.
on_gesture_discard GestureContainerFired when a gesture does not meet
the minimum size requirements for recognition (width/height < 5, or consists only of single- point strokes).
find_colliding_gesture(touch)
Checks if a touch x/y collides with the bounding box of an existing gesture. If so, return it
(otherwise returns None)
get_gesture(touch)
Returns GestureContainer associated with given touch
init_gesture(touch)
Create a new gesture from touch, ie its the first on surface, or was not close enough to any
existing gesture (yet)
merge_gestures(g, other)
Merges two gestures together, the oldest one is retained and the newer one gets the GestureContainer.was_merged flag raised.
When a new touch is registered, the first thing we do is to test if it collides with the bounding
box of another known gesture. If so, it is assumed to be part of that gesture.
When a touch moves, we add a point to the line on the canvas so the path is updated. We
must also check if the new point collides with the bouonding box of another gesture - if so,
they should be merged.
class kivy.uix.gesturesurface.GestureContainer(touch, **kwargs)
Container object that stores information about a gesture. It has various properties that are updated
by GestureSurface as drawing progresses.
Arguments
touchTouch object (as received by on_touch_down) used to initialize the gesture
container. Required.
Properties
activeSet to False once the gesture is complete (meets max_stroke setting or GestureSurface.temporal_window)
active is a BooleanProperty
active_strokesNumber of strokes currently active in the gesture, ie concurrent
touches associated with this gesture.
active_strokes is a NumericProperty
max_strokesMax number of strokes allowed in the gesture. This is set
by GestureSurface.max_strokes but can be overridden for example from
on_gesture_start.
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max_strokes is a NumericProperty
was_mergedIndicates that this gesture has been merged with another gesture
and should be considered discarded.
was_merged is a BooleanProperty
bboxDictionary with keys minx, miny, maxx, maxy. Represents the size of the
gesture bounding box.
bbox is a DictProperty
widthRepresents the width of the gesture.
width is a NumericProperty
heightRepresents the height of the gesture.
height is a NumericProperty
accept_stroke(count=1)
Returns True if this container can accept count new strokes
add_stroke(touch, line)
Associate a list of points with a touch.uid; the line itself is created by the caller, but subsequent move/up events look it up via us. This is done to avoid problems during merge.
complete_stroke()
Called on touch up events to keep track of how many strokes are active in the gesture (we
only want to dispatch event when the last stroke in the gesture is released)
get_vectors(**kwargs)
Return strokes in a format that is acceptable for kivy.multistroke.Recognizer as a gesture candidate or template. The result is cached automatically; the cache is invalidated at the start and
end of a stroke and if update_bbox is called. If you are going to analyze a gesture mid-stroke,
you may need to set the no_cache argument to True.
handles(touch)
Returns True if this container handles the given touch
single_points_test()
Returns True if the gesture consists only of single-point strokes, we must discard it in this
case, or an exception will be raised
update_bbox(touch)
Update gesture bbox from a touch coordinate
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34.19 Grid Layout

The GridLayout arranges children in a matrix. It takes the available space and divides it into columns
and rows, then adds widgets to the resulting cells.
Changed in version 1.0.7: The implementation has changed to use the widget size_hint for calculating
column/row sizes. uniform_width and uniform_height have been removed and other properties have
added to give you more control.
34.19.1 Background
Unlike many other toolkits, you cannot explicitly place a widget in a specific column/row. Each child
is automatically assigned a position determined by the layout configuration and the childs index in the
children list.
A GridLayout must always have at least one input constraint:
GridLayout.cols or
GridLayout.rows. If you do not specify cols or rows, the Layout will throw an exception.
34.19.2 Column Width and Row Height

The column width/row height are determined in 3 steps:
The initial size is given by the col_default_width and row_default_height properties. To
customize the size of a single column or row, use cols_minimum or rows_minimum.
The size_hint_x/size_hint_y of the children are taken into account. If no widgets have a size hint,
the maximum size is used for all children.
You can force the default size by setting the col_force_default or row_force_default
property. This will force the layout to ignore the width and size_hint properties of children and use
the default size.
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34.19.3 Using a GridLayout

In the example below, all widgets will have an equal size. By default, the size_hint is (1, 1), so a Widget
will take the full size of the parent:
layout = GridLayout(cols=2)
layout.add_widget(Button(text='Hello
layout.add_widget(Button(text='World
1'))
1'))
2'))
2'))
Now, lets fix the size of Hello buttons to 100px instead of using size_hint_x=1:
layout = GridLayout(cols=2)
1', size_hint_x=None, width=100))

1'))
2', size_hint_x=None, width=100))
2'))
Next, lets fix the row height to a specific size:

layout = GridLayout(cols=2, row_force_default=True, row_default_height=40)
layout.add_widget(Button(text='Hello 1', size_hint_x=None, width=100))
layout.add_widget(Button(text='World 1'))
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layout.add_widget(Button(text='Hello 2', size_hint_x=None, width=100))

layout.add_widget(Button(text='World 2'))
class kivy.uix.gridlayout.GridLayout(**kwargs)
Grid layout class. See module documentation for more information.
col_default_width
Default minimum size to use for a column.
col_default_width is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
col_force_default
If True, ignore the width and size_hint_x of the child and use the default column width.
col_force_default is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
cols
Number of columns in the grid.
Changed in version 1.0.8: Changed from a NumericProperty to BoundedNumericProperty.
You can no longer set this to a negative value.
cols is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
cols_minimum
List of minimum sizes for each column.
cols_minimum is a DictProperty and defaults to {}.
minimum_height
Minimum height needed to contain all children.
minimum_height is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
minimum_size
Minimum size needed to contain all children.
minimum_size is a ReferenceListProperty of (minimum_width, minimum_height)
properties.
minimum_width
Minimum width needed to contain all children.
minimum_width is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
padding
Padding between the layout box and its children:
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[padding_left, padding_top,

Changed in version 1.7.0: Replaced NumericProperty with VariableListProperty.
row_default_height
Default minimum size to use for row.
row_default_height is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
row_force_default
If True, ignore the height and size_hint_y of the child and use the default row height.
row_force_default is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
rows
Number of rows in the grid.
Changed in version 1.0.8: Changed from a NumericProperty to a BoundedNumericProperty.
You can no longer set this to a negative value.
rows is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
rows_minimum
List of minimum sizes for each row.
rows_minimum is a DictProperty and defaults to {}.
spacing
Spacing between children: [spacing_horizontal, spacing_vertical].
spacing also accepts a one argument form [spacing].
spacing is a VariableListProperty and defaults to [0, 0].
exception kivy.uix.gridlayout.GridLayoutException
Bases: Exception
Exception for errors if the grid layout manipulation fails.
34.20 Image
The Image widget is used to display an image:
wimg = Image(source='mylogo.png')
34.20.1 Asynchronous Loading

To load an image asynchronously (for example from an external webserver), use the AsyncImage
subclass:
aimg = AsyncImage(source='http://mywebsite.com/logo.png')
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This can be useful as it prevents your application from waiting until the image is loaded. If you want
to display large images or retrieve them from URLs, using AsyncImage will allow these resources to
be retrieved on a background thread without blocking your application.
34.20.2 Alignment
By default, the image is centered and fits inside the widget bounding box. If you dont want that, you
can set allow_stretch to True and keep_ratio to False.
You can also inherit from Image and create your own style.
For example, if you want your image to be greater than,the size of your widget, you could do:
class FullImage(Image):
pass
And in your kivy language file:

<-FullImage>:
canvas:
Color:
rgb: (1, 1, 1)
Rectangle:
size: self.width + 20, self.height + 20
pos: self.x - 10, self.y - 10
class kivy.uix.image.Image(**kwargs)
Image class, see module documentation for more information.
allow_stretch
If True, the normalized image size will be maximized to fit in the image box. Otherwise, if
the box is too tall, the image will not be stretched more than 1:1 pixels.
allow_stretch is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
anim_delay
Delay the animation if the image is sequenced (like an animated gif). If anim_delay is set to
-1, the animation will be stopped.
anim_delay is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.25 (4 FPS).
anim_loop
Number of loops to play then stop animating. 0 means keep animating.
anim_loop is a NumericProperty defaults to 0.
color
Image color, in the format (r, g, b, a). This attribute can be used to tint an image. Be careful:
if the source image is not gray/white, the color will not really work as expected.
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image_ratio
Ratio of the image (width / float(height).
image_ratio is a AliasProperty and is read-only.
keep_data
If True, the underlaying _coreimage will store the raw image data. This is useful when
performing pixel based collision detection.
keep_data is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
keep_ratio
If False along with allow_stretch being True, the normalized image size will be maximized
to fit in the image box and ignores the aspect ratio of the image. Otherwise, if the box is too
tall, the image will not be stretched more than 1:1 pixels.
keep_ratio is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True.
mipmap
Indicate if you want OpenGL mipmapping to be applied to the texture. Read Mipmapping
mipmap is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
nocache
If this property is set True, the image will not be added to the internal cache. The cache will
simply ignore any calls trying to append the core image.
nocache is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
norm_image_size
Normalized image size within the widget box.
This size will always fit the widget size and will preserve the image ratio.
norm_image_size is a AliasProperty and is read-only.
reload()
Reload image from disk. This facilitates re-loading of images from disk in case the image
content changes.
Usage:
im = Image(source = '1.jpg')
# -- do something -im.reload()
# image will be re-loaded from disk
source
Filename / source of your image.
source is a StringProperty and defaults to None.
texture
Texture object of the image. The texture represents the original, loaded image texture.
It is streched and positioned during rendering according to the allow_stretch and
keep_ratio properties.
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Depending of the texture creation, the value will be a Texture or a TextureRegion object.
texture is a ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
texture_size
Texture size of the image. This represents the original, loaded image texture size.
Warning: The texture size is set after the texture property. So if you listen to the change
on texture, the property texture_size will not be up-to-date. Use self.texture.size instead.
class kivy.uix.image.AsyncImage(**kwargs)
Asynchronous Image class. See the module documentation for more information.
Note: The AsyncImage is a specialized form of the Image class. You may want to refer to the
loader documentation and in particular, the ProxyImage for more detail on how to handle
events around asynchronous image loading.
34.21 Label
The Label widget is for rendering text. It supports ascii and unicode strings:
# hello world text
l = Label(text='Hello world')
# unicode text; can only display glyphs that are available in the font
l = Label(text=u'Hello world ' + unichr(2764))
# multiline text
l = Label(text='Multi\nLine')
# size
l = Label(text='Hello world', font_size='20sp')
34.21.1 Sizing and text content

By default, the size of Label is not affected by text content and the text is not affected by the size.
In order to control sizing, you must specify text_size to constrain the text and/or bind size to
texture_size to grow with the text.
For example, this labels size will be set to the text content (plus padding):
Label:
This labels text will wrap at the specified width and be clipped to the height:
Label:
text_size: cm(6), cm(4)
Note: The shorten and max_lines attributes control how overflowing text behaves.
Combine these concepts to create a Label that can grow vertically but wraps the text at a certain width:
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Label:
text_size: root.width, None
34.21.2 Text alignment and wrapping

The Label has halign and valign properties to control the alignment of its text. However, by default
the text image (texture) is only just large enough to contain the characters and is positioned in the
center of the Label. The valign property will have no effect and halign will only have an effect if your
text has newlines; a single line of text will appear to be centered even though halign is set to left (by
default).
In order for the alignment properties to take effect, set the text_size, which specifies the size of the
bounding box within which text is aligned. For instance, the following code binds this size to the size
of the Label, so text will be aligned within the widget bounds. This will also automatically wrap the
text of the Label to remain within this area.
Label:
halign: 'right'
valign: 'middle'
34.21.3 Markup text

You can change the style of the text using Text Markup. The syntax is similar to the bbcode syntax but
only the inline styling is allowed:
# hello world with world in bold
l = Label(text='Hello [b]World[/b]', markup=True)
# hello in red, world in blue
l = Label(text='[color=ff3333]Hello[/color][color=3333ff]World[/color]',
markup = True)
If you need to escape the markup from the current text, use kivy.utils.escape_markup():
text = 'This is an important message [1]'
l = Label(text='[b]' + escape_markup(text) + '[/b]', markup=True)
The following tags are available:

[b][/b] Activate bold text
[i][/i] Activate italic text
[font=<str>][/font] Change the font
[size=<integer>][/size] Change the font size
[color=#<color>][/color] Change the text color
[ref=<str>][/ref] Add an interactive zone. The reference + bounding box inside the reference
will be available in Label.refs
[anchor=<str>] Put an anchor in the text. You can get the position of your anchor within the text
with Label.anchors
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[sub][/sub] Display the text at a subscript position relative to the text before it.
[sup][/sup] Display the text at a superscript position relative to the text before it.
If you want to render the markup text with a [ or ] or & character, you need to escape them. We created
a simple syntax:
[
]
&
-> &bl;
-> &br;
-> &
Then you can write:

"[size=24]Hello &bl;World&bt;[/size]"
34.21.4 Interactive Zone in Text

You can now have definable links using text markup. The idea is to be able to detect when the user
clicks on part of the text and to react. The tag [ref=xxx] is used for that.
In this example, we are creating a reference on the word World. When this word is clicked, the
function print_it will be called with the name of the reference:
def print_it(instance, value):
print('User clicked on', value)
widget = Label(text='Hello [ref=world]World[/ref]', markup=True)
widget.bind(on_ref_press=print_it)
For prettier rendering, you could add a color for the reference. Replace the text= in the previous
example with:
'Hello [ref=world][color=0000ff]World[/color][/ref]'

The following example marks the anchors and references contained in a label:
from
from
from
from
kivy.app import App

kivy.clock import Clock
class TestApp(App):
@staticmethod
def get_x(label, ref_x):
""" Return the x value of the ref/anchor relative to the canvas """
return label.center_x - label.texture_size[0] * 0.5 + ref_x
@staticmethod
def get_y(label, ref_y):
""" Return the y value of the ref/anchor relative to the canvas """
# Note the inversion of direction, as y values start at the top of
# the texture and increase downwards
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return label.center_y + label.texture_size[1] * 0.5 - ref_y

def show_marks(self, label):
# Indicate the position of the anchors with a red top marker
for name, anc in label.anchors.items():
with label.canvas:
Color(1, 0, 0)
Rectangle(pos=(self.get_x(label, anc[0]),
self.get_y(label, anc[1])),
size=(3, 3))
# Draw a green surround around the refs. Note the sizes y inversion
for name, boxes in label.refs.items():
for box in boxes:
with label.canvas:
Color(0, 1, 0, 0.25)
Rectangle(pos=(self.get_x(label, box[0]),
self.get_y(label, box[1])),
size=(box[2] - box[0],
box[1] - box[3]))
def build(self):
label = Label(
text='[anchor=a]a\nChars [anchor=b]b\n[ref=myref]ref[/ref]',
markup=True)
Clock.schedule_once(lambda dt: self.show_marks(label), 1)
return label
TestApp().run()
class kivy.uix.label.Label(**kwargs)
Label class, see module documentation for more information.
Events
on_ref_pressFired when the user clicks on a word referenced with a [ref] tag
in a text markup.
anchors
Position of all the [anchor=xxx] markup in the text. These co-ordinates are relative to the
top left corner of the text, with the y value increasing downwards. Anchors names should
be unique and only the first occurence of any duplicate anchors will be recorded.
You can place anchors in your markup text as follows:
text = """
[anchor=title1][size=24]This is my Big title.[/size]
[anchor=content]Hello world
"""
Then, all the [anchor=] references will be removed and youll get all the anchor positions
in this property (only after rendering):
>>> widget = Label(text=text, markup=True)
>>> widget.texture_update()
>>> widget.anchors
{"content": (20, 32), "title1": (20, 16)}
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Note: This works only with markup text. You need markup set to True.
bold
Indicates use of the bold version of your font.
Note: Depending of your font, the bold attribute may have no impact on your text rendering.
bold is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
color
disabled_color
disabled_color is a ListProperty and defaults to [1, 1, 1, .5].
font_name
Filename of the font to use. The path can be absolute or relative. Relative paths are resolved
by the resource_find() function.
Warning: Depending of your text provider, the font file can be ignored. However, you
can mostly use this without problems.
If the font used lacks the glyphs for the particular language/symbols you are using, you
will see [] blank box characters instead of the actual glyphs. The solution is to use a font
that has the glyphs you need to display. For example, to display
freesans.ttf that has the glyph.
, use a font such as
font_name is a StringProperty and defaults to Roboto.

font_size
Font size of the text, in pixels.
font_size is a NumericProperty and defaults to 15sp.
halign
Horizontal alignment of the text.
halign is an OptionProperty and defaults to left. Available options are : left, center,
right and justify.
Warning: This doesnt change the position of the text texture of the Label (centered),
only the position of the text in this texture. You probably want to bind the size of the
Label to the texture_size or set a text_size.
Changed in version 1.6.0: A new option was added to halign, namely justify.
italic
Indicates use of the italic version of your font.
Note: Depending of your font, the italic attribute may have no impact on your text rendering.
italic is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
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line_height
Line Height for the text. e.g. line_height = 2 will cause the spacing between lines to be twice
the size.
line_height is a NumericProperty and defaults to 1.0.
markup
If True, the text will be rendered using the MarkupLabel: you can change the style of the
text using tags. Check the Text Markup documentation for more information.
markup is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
max_lines
Maximum number of lines to use, defaults to 0, which means unlimited. Please note that
shorten take over this property. (with shorten, the text is always one line.)
max_lines is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
mipmap
Indicates whether OpenGL mipmapping is applied to the texture or not. Read Mipmapping
mipmap is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
padding
Padding of the text in the format (padding_x, padding_y)
padding is a ReferenceListProperty of (padding_x, padding_y) properties.
padding_x
Horizontal padding of the text inside the widget box.
padding_x is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
Changed in version 1.9.0: padding_x has been fixed to work as expected. In the past, the text
was padded by the negative of its values.
padding_y
Vertical padding of the text inside the widget box.
padding_y is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
Changed in version 1.9.0: padding_y has been fixed to work as expected. In the past, the text
was padded by the negative of its values.
refs
List of [ref=xxx] markup items in the text with the bounding box of all the words contained in a ref, available only after rendering.
For example, if you wrote:
Check out my [ref=hello]link[/ref]
The refs will be set with:

{'hello': ((64, 0, 78, 16), )}
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The references marked hello have a bounding box at (x1, y1, x2, y2). These co-ordinates
are relative to the top left corner of the text, with the y value increasing downwards. You
can define multiple refs with the same name: each occurence will be added as another (x1,
y1, x2, y2) tuple to this list.
The current Label implementation uses these references if they exist in your markup text,
automatically doing the collision with the touch and dispatching an on_ref_press event.
You can bind a ref event like this:
def print_it(instance, value):
print('User click on', value)
widget = Label(text='Hello [ref=world]World[/ref]', markup=True)
widget.on_ref_press(print_it)
Note: This works only with markup text. You need markup set to True.
shorten
Indicates whether the label should attempt to shorten its textual contents as much as possible
if a text_size is given. Setting this to True without an appropriately set text_size will
lead to unexpected results.
shorten_from and split_str control the direction from which the text is split, as well
as where in the text we are allowed to split.
shorten is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
shorten_from
The side from which we should shorten the text from, can be left, right, or center.
For example, if left, the ellipsis will appear towards the left side and we will display as much
text starting from the right as possible. Similar to shorten, this option only applies when
text_size [0] is not None, In this case, the string is shortened to fit within the specified
width.
shorten_from is a OptionProperty and defaults to center.
split_str
The string used to split the text while shortening the string when shorten is True.
For example, if its a space, the string will be broken into words and as many whole words
that can fit into a single line will be displayed. If shorten_from is the empty string, , we
split on every character fitting as much text as possible into the line.
split_str is a StringProperty and defaults to (the empty string).
strip
Whether leading and trailing spaces and newlines should be stripped from each displayed
line. If True, every line will start at the right or left edge, depending on halign. If halign
is justify it is implicitly True.
strip is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
text
Text of the label.
Creation of a simple hello world:
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widget = Label(text='Hello world')
If you want to create the widget with an unicode string, use:

widget = Label(text=u'My unicode string')
text is a StringProperty and defaults to .

text_size
By default, the label is not constrained to any bounding box. You can set the size constraint
of the label with this property. The text will autoflow into the constrains. So although the
font size will not be reduced, the text will be arranged to fit into the box as best as possible,
with any text still outside the box clipped.
This sets and clips texture_size to text_size if not None.
For example, whatever your current widget size is, if you want the label to be created in a
box with width=200 and unlimited height:
Label(text='Very big big line', text_size=(200, None))
Note: This text_size property is the same as the usersize property in the Label class. (It
is named size= in the constructor.)
text_size is a ListProperty and defaults to (None, None), meaning no size restriction
by default.
texture
Texture object of the text. The text is rendered automatically when a property changes.
The OpenGL texture created in this operation is stored in this property. You can use this
texture for any graphics elements.
Depending on the texture creation, the value will be a Texture or TextureRegion object.
Warning: The texture update is scheduled for the next frame. If you need the texture immediately after changing a property, you have to call the texture_update()
method before accessing texture:
l = Label(text='Hello world')
# l.texture is good
l.font_size = '50sp'
# l.texture is not updated yet
l.texture_update()
# l.texture is good now.
texture is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.

texture_size
Texture size of the text. The size is determined by the font size and text. If text_size is
[None, None], the texture will be the size required to fit the text, otherwise its clipped to fit
text_size.
When text_size is [None, None], one can bind to texture_size and rescale it proportionally to fit the size of the label in order to make the text fit maximally in the label.
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Warning: The texture_size is set after the texture property. If you listen for
changes to texture, texture_size will not be up-to-date in your callback. Bind to
texture_size instead.
texture_update(*largs)
Force texture recreation with the current Label properties.
After this function call, the texture and texture_size will be updated in this order.
unicode_errors
How to handle unicode decode errors. Can be strict, replace or ignore.
unicode_errors is an OptionProperty and defaults to replace.
valign
Vertical alignment of the text.
valign is an OptionProperty and defaults to bottom. Available options are : bottom,
middle and top.
Warning: This doesnt change the position of the text texture of the Label (centered),
only the position of the text within this texture. You probably want to bind the size of the
Label to the texture_size or set a text_size to change this behavior.
34.22 Layout
Layouts are used to calculate and assign widget positions.
The Layout class itself cannot be used directly. You should use one of the following layout classes:
Anchor layout: kivy.uix.anchorlayout.AnchorLayout
Box layout: kivy.uix.boxlayout.BoxLayout
Float layout: kivy.uix.floatlayout.FloatLayout
Grid layout: kivy.uix.gridlayout.GridLayout
Page Layout: kivy.uix.pagelayout.PageLayout
Relative layout: kivy.uix.relativelayout.RelativeLayout
Scatter layout: kivy.uix.scatterlayout.ScatterLayout
Stack layout: kivy.uix.stacklayout.StackLayout
34.22.1 Understanding the size_hint Property in Widget

The size_hint is a tuple of values used by layouts to manage the sizes of their children. It indicates
the size relative to the layouts size instead of an absolute size (in pixels/points/cm/etc). The format
is:
widget.size_hint = (width_percent, height_percent)
The percent is specified as a floating point number in the range 0-1. For example, 0.5 is 50%, 1 is 100%.
If you want a widgets width to be half of the parents width and the height to be identical to the parents
height, you would do:
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widget.size_hint = (0.5, 1.0)
If you dont want to use a size_hint for either the width or height, set the value to None. For example,
to make a widget that is 250px wide and 30% of the parents height, do:
widget.size_hint = (None, 0.3)
widget.width = 250
Being Kivy properties, these can also be set via constructor arguments:
widget = Widget(size_hint=(None, 0.3), width=250)
Changed in version 1.4.1: The reposition_child internal method (made public by mistake) has been removed.
class kivy.uix.layout.Layout(**kwargs)
Layout interface class, used to implement every layout. See module documentation for more
information.
do_layout(*largs)
This function is called when a layout is needed by a trigger. If you are writing a new Layout
subclass, dont call this function directly but use _trigger_layout() instead.
34.23 List View

New in version 1.5.
The ListView implements an AbstractView as a vertical, scrollable,pannable list clipped to the
scrollviews bounding box and contains list item view instances.
The AbstractView has one property: adapter. The adapter can be one of the following: a
SimpleListAdapter, a ListAdapter or a DictAdapter. The Adapter can make use of
args_converters to prepare you data for passing into the constructor for each item view instantiation.
For an overview of how all these components fit together, please see the adapters module documentation.
34.23.1 Introduction
Lists are central parts of many software projects. Kivys approach to lists includes providing solutions
for simple lists, along with a substantial framework for building lists of moderate to advanced complexity. For a new user, it can be difficult to ramp up from simple to advanced. For this reason, Kivy
provides an extensive set of examples (with the Kivy package) that you may wish to run first, to get
a taste of the range of functionality offered. You can tell from the names of the examples that they
illustrate the ramping up from simple to advanced:
kivy/examples/widgets/lists/list_simple.py
kivy/examples/widgets/lists/list_simple_in_kv.py
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kivy/examples/widgets/lists/list_simple_in_kv_2.py
kivy/examples/widgets/lists/list_master_detail.py
kivy/examples/widgets/lists/list_two_up.py
kivy/examples/widgets/lists/list_kv.py
kivy/examples/widgets/lists/list_composite.py
kivy/examples/widgets/lists/list_cascade.py
kivy/examples/widgets/lists/list_cascade_dict.py
kivy/examples/widgets/lists/list_cascade_images.py
kivy/examples/widgets/lists/list_ops.py
Many of the examples feature selection, some restricting selection to single selection, where only one
item at at time can be selected, and others allowing multiple item selection. Many of the examples
illustrate how selection in one list can be connected to actions and selections in another view or another
list.
Find your own way of reading the documentation here, examining the source code for the example
apps and running the examples. Some may prefer to read the documentation through first, others may
want to run the examples and view their code. No matter what you do, going back and forth will likely
be needed.
34.23.2 Basic Example

In its simplest form, we make a listview with 100 items:
from kivy.uix.listview import ListView
class MainView(ListView):
super(MainView, self).__init__(
item_strings=[str(index) for index in range(100)])
if __name__ == '__main__':
runTouchApp(MainView())
Or, we could declare the listview using the kv language:

from kivy.uix.boxlayout import BoxLayout
Builder.load_string("""
<MyListView>:
ListView:
item_strings: [str(index) for index in range(100)]
""")
class MyListView(BoxLayout):
pass
if __name__ == '__main__':
runTouchApp(MyListView())
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34.23.3 Using an Adapter

Behind the scenes, the basic example above uses the SimpleListAdapter. When the constructor for
the ListView sees that only a list of strings is provided as an argument (called item_strings), it creates
a SimpleListAdapter using the list of strings.
Simple in SimpleListAdapter means without selection support. It is a scrollable list of items that
does not respond to touch events.
To use a SimpleListAdaper explicitly when creating a ListView instance, do:
simple_list_adapter = SimpleListAdapter(
data=["Item #{0}".format(i) for i in range(100)],
cls=Label)
list_view = ListView(adapter=simple_list_adapter)
The instance of SimpleListAdapter has a required data argument which contains data items to use
for instantiating Label views for the list view (note the cls=Label argument). The data items are strings.
Each item string is set by the SimpleListAdapter as the text argument for each Label instantiation.
You can declare a ListView with an adapter in a kv file with special attention given to the way longer
python blocks are indented:
from kivy.uix.boxlayout import BoxLayout
# Note the special nature of indentation in the adapter declaration, where
# the adapter: is on one line, then the value side must be given at one
# level of indentation.
#:import label kivy.uix.label
#:import sla kivy.adapters.simplelistadapter
<MyListView>:
ListView:
adapter:
sla.SimpleListAdapter(
data=["Item #{0}".format(i) for i in range(100)],
cls=label.Label)
""")
class MyListView(BoxLayout):
pass
if __name__ == '__main__':
runTouchApp(MyListView())
34.23.4 ListAdapter and DictAdapter

For most use cases, your data is more complex than a simple list of strings. Selection functionality is
also often needed. The ListAdapter and DictAdapter cover these more elaborate needs.
The ListAdapter is the base class for DictAdapter, so we can start with it.
Refer to the ListAdapter docs for details, but here is a synopses of its arguments:
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data: strings, class instances, dicts, etc. that form the base data for instantiating views.
cls: a Kivy view that is to be instantiated for each list item. There are several built-in types
available, including ListItemLabel and ListItemButton, or you can make your own class that mixes
in the required SelectableView.
template: the name of a Kivy language (kv) template that defines the Kivy view for each list
item.
Note: Pick only one, cls or template, to provide as an argument.
args_converters: a function that takes a data item object as input and uses it to build and
return an args dict, ready to be used in a call to instantiate item views using the item view cls or
template. In the case of cls, the args dict becomes a kwargs constructor argument. For a template,
it is treated as a context (ctx) but is essentially similar in form to the kwargs usage.
selection_mode: a string with the value single, multiple or other.
allow_empty_selection: a boolean, which if False (the default), forces there to always be a
selection if there is data available. If True, selection happens only as a result of user action.
In narrative, we can summarize as follows:
A listviews adapter takes data items and uses an args_converter function to transform them
into arguments for creating list item view instances, using either a cls or a kv template.
In a graphic, a summary of the relationship between a listview and its components can be summarized
as follows:
Please refer to the adapters documentation for more details.

A DictAdapter has the same arguments and requirements as a ListAdapter except for two things:
1. There is an additional argument, sorted_keys, which must meet the requirements of normal
python dictionary keys.
2. The data argument is, as you would expect, a dict. Keys in the dict must include the keys in the
sorted_keys argument, but they may form a superset of the keys in sorted_keys. Values may be
strings, class instances, dicts, etc. (The args_converter uses it accordingly).
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34.23.5 Using an Args Converter

A ListView allows use of built-in list item views, such as ListItemButton, your own custom item
view class or a custom kv template. Whichever type of list item view is used, an args_converter function
is needed to prepare, per list data item, kwargs for the cls or the ctx for the template.
Note: Only the ListItemLabel, ListItemButton or custom classes like them (and not the simple Label or
Button classes) are to be used in the listview system.
Warning: ListItemButton inherits the background_normal and background_down properties from the
Button widget, so the selected_color and deselected_color are not represented faithfully by default.
Here is an args_converter for use with the built-in ListItemButton specified as a normal Python
function:
def args_converter(row_index, an_obj):
return {'text': an_obj.text,
'height': 25}
and as a lambda:
args_converter = lambda row_index, an_obj: {'text': an_obj.text,
'height': 25}
In the args converter example above, the data item is assumed to be an object (class instance), hence the
reference an_obj.text.
Here is an example of an args converter that works with list data items that are dicts:
args_converter = lambda row_index, obj: {'text': obj['text'],
'height': 25}
So, it is the responsibility of the developer to code the args_converter according to the data at hand. The
row_index argument can be useful in some cases, such as when custom labels are needed.
34.23.6 An Example ListView

Now, to some example code:
from kivy.adapters.listadapter import ListAdapter
from kivy.uix.listview import ListItemButton, ListView
data = [{'text': str(i), 'is_selected': False} for i in range(100)]
args_converter = lambda row_index, rec: {'text': rec['text'],
'height': 25}
list_adapter = ListAdapter(data=data,
args_converter=args_converter,
cls=ListItemButton,
selection_mode='single',
allow_empty_selection=False)
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list_view = ListView(adapter=list_adapter)
This listview will show 100 buttons with text of 0 to 100. The args_converter function converts the
dict items in the data and instantiates ListItemButton views by passing these converted items into
its constructor. The listview will only allow single selection and the first item will already be selected as allow_empty_selection is False. For a complete discussion on these arguments, please see
the ListAdapter documentation.
The ListItemLabel works in much the same way as the ListItemButton.
34.23.7 Using a Custom Item View Class

The data used in an adapter can be any of the normal Python types or custom classes, as shown below.
It is up to the programmer to assure that the args_converter performs the appropriate conversions.
Here we make a simple DataItem class that has the required text and is_selected properties:
from kivy.uix.listview import ListItemButton
from kivy.adapters.listadapter import ListAdapter
class DataItem(object):
def __init__(self, text='', is_selected=False):
self.text = text
self.is_selected = is_selected
data_items = [DataItem(text='cat'),
DataItem(text='dog'),
DataItem(text='frog')]
list_item_args_converter = lambda row_index, obj: {'text': obj.text,
'height': 25}
list_adapter = ListAdapter(data=data_items,
args_converter=list_item_args_converter,
propagate_selection_to_data=True,
cls=ListItemButton)
list_view = ListView(adapter=list_adapter)
The data is passed to the ListAdapter along with an args_converter function. The propagation setting
means that the is_selected property for each data item will be set and kept in sync with the list item
views. This setting should be set to True if you wish to initialize the view with item views already
selected.
You may also use the provided SelectableDataItem mixin to make a custom class. Instead of the
manually-constructed DataItem class above, we could do:
from kivy.adapters.models import SelectableDataItem
class DataItem(SelectableDataItem):
# Add properties here.
pass
SelectableDataItem is a simple mixin class that has an is_selected property.
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34.23.8 Using an Item View Template

SelectableView is another simple mixin class that has required properties for a list item: text, and
is_selected. To make your own template, mix it in as follows:
[CustomListItem@SelectableView+BoxLayout]:
size_hint_y: ctx.size_hint_y
height: ctx.height
ListItemButton:
text: ctx.text
is_selected: ctx.is_selected
""")
A class called CustomListItem can then be instantiated for each list item. Note that it subclasses a
BoxLayout and is thus a type of layout. It contains a ListItemButton instance.
Using the power of the Kivy language (kv), you can easily build composite list items: in addition to
ListItemButton, you could have a ListItemLabel or a custom class you have defined and registered via
the Factory.
An args_converter needs to be constructed that goes along with such a kv template. For example, to
use the kv template above:
list_item_args_converter = \
lambda row_index, rec: {'text': rec['text'],
'is_selected': rec['is_selected'],
'height': 25}
integers_dict = \
{ str(i): {'text': str(i), 'is_selected': False} for i in range(100)}
dict_adapter = DictAdapter(sorted_keys=[str(i) for i in range(100)],
data=integers_dict,
args_converter=list_item_args_converter,
template='CustomListItem')
list_view = ListView(adapter=dict_adapter)
A dict adapter is created with 1..100 integer strings as sorted_keys, and an integers_dict as data. integers_dict has the integer strings as keys and dicts with text and is_selected properties. The CustomListItem defined above in the Builder.load_string() call is set as the kv template for the list item views. The
list_item_args_converter lambda function will take each dict in integers_dict and will return an args
dict, ready for passing as the context (ctx) for the template.
34.23.9 Using CompositeListItem

The class CompositeListItem is another option for building advanced composite list items. The kv
language approach has its advantages, but here we build a composite list view using a plain Python:
args_converter = lambda row_index, rec: \
{'text': rec['text'],
'height': 25,
'cls_dicts': [{'cls': ListItemButton,
'kwargs': {'text': rec['text']}},
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{'cls': ListItemLabel,
'kwargs': {'text': "Middle-{0}".format(rec['text']),
'is_representing_cls': True}},
{'cls': ListItemButton,
'kwargs': {'text': rec['text']}}]}
item_strings = ["{0}".format(index) for index in range(100)]
integers_dict = \
{str(i): {'text': str(i), 'is_selected': False} for i in range(100)}
dict_adapter = DictAdapter(sorted_keys=item_strings,
data=integers_dict,
args_converter=args_converter,
selection_mode='single',
allow_empty_selection=False,
cls=CompositeListItem)
list_view = ListView(adapter=dict_adapter)
The args_converter is somewhat complicated, so we should go through the details. Observe in the
DictAdapter instantiation that CompositeListItem instance is set as the cls to be instantiated for
each list item component. The args_converter will make args dicts for this cls. In the args_converter,
the first three items, text, size_hint_y, and height, are arguments for the CompositeListItem itself. After
that you see a cls_dicts list that contains argument sets for each of the member widgets for this composite: 2 ListItemButtons and a ListItemLabel. This is a similar approach to using a kv template
described above.
For details on how CompositeListItem works, examine the code, looking for how parsing of the
cls_dicts list and kwargs processing is done.
34.23.10 Uses for Selection

What can we do with selection? Combining selection with the system of bindings in Kivy, we can build
a wide range of user interface designs.
We could make data items that contain the names of dog breeds, and connect the selection of dog breed
to the display of details in another view, which would update automatically on selection. This is done
via a binding to the on_selection_change event:
list_adapter.bind(on_selection_change=callback_function)
where callback_function() gets passed the adapter as an argument and does whatever is needed for the
update. See the example called list_master_detail.py, and imagine that the list on the left could be a list
of dog breeds, and the detail view on the right could show details for a selected dog breed.
In another example, we could set the selection_mode of a listview to multiple, and load it with a list of
answers to a multiple-choice question. The question could have several correct answers. A color swatch
view could be bound to selection change, as above, so that it turns green as soon as the correct choices
are made, unless the number of touches exeeds a limit, then the answer session could be terminated.
See the examples that feature thumbnail images to get some ideas, e.g., list_cascade_dict.py.
In a more involved example, we could chain together three listviews, where selection in the first controls
the items shown in the second, and selection in the second controls the items shown in the third. If
allow_empty_selection were set to False for these listviews, a dynamic system of selection cascading
from one list to the next, would result.
There are so many ways that listviews and Kivy bindings functionality can be used, that we have only
scratched the surface here. For on-disk examples, see:
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kivy/examples/widgets/lists/list_*.py
Several examples show the cascading behavior described above. Others demonstrate the use of kv
templates and composite list views.
class kivy.uix.listview.SelectableView(**kwargs)
The SelectableView mixin is used to design list items and other classes that are to be instantiated by an adapter for use in a listview. The ListAdapter and DictAdapter adapters are
selection-enabled. select() and deselect() are to be overridden with display code to mark items as
selected or not, if desired.
deselect(*args)
The list item is responsible for updating the display for being unselected, if desired.
index
The index into the underlying data list or the data item this view represents.
index is a NumericProperty, default to -1.
is_selected
A SelectableView instance carries this property, which should be kept in sync with the equivalent property in the data item it represents.
is_selected is a BooleanProperty, default to False.
select(*args)
The list item is responsible for updating the display for being selected, if desired.
class kivy.uix.listview.ListItemButton(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.listview.ListItemReprMixin, kivy.uix.listview.SelectableView,
kivy.uix.button.Button
ListItemButton mixes SelectableView with Button to produce a button suitable for use
in ListView.
deselected_color
deselected_color is a ListProperty and defaults to [0., 1., 0., 1].
selected_color
selected_color is a ListProperty and defaults to [1., 0., 0., 1].
class kivy.uix.listview.ListItemLabel(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.listview.ListItemReprMixin, kivy.uix.listview.SelectableView,
kivy.uix.label.Label
ListItemLabel mixes SelectableView with Label to produce a label suitable for use in
ListView.
class kivy.uix.listview.CompositeListItem(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.listview.SelectableView, kivy.uix.boxlayout.BoxLayout
CompositeListItem mixes SelectableView with BoxLayout for a generic container-style
list item, to be used in ListView.
background_color
ListItem sublasses Button, which has background_color, but for a composite list item, we
must add this property.
deselected_color
deselected_color is a ListProperty and defaults to [.33, .33, .33, 1].
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representing_cls
Which component view class, if any, should represent for the composite list item in
__repr__()?
representing_cls is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
selected_color
selected_color is a ListProperty and defaults to [1., 0., 0., 1].
class kivy.uix.listview.ListView(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.abstractview.AbstractView, kivy.event.EventDispatcher
ListView is a primary high-level widget, handling the common task of presenting items in a
scrolling list. Flexibility is afforded by use of a variety of adapters to interface with data.
The adapter property comes via the mixed in AbstractView class.
ListView also subclasses EventDispatcher for scrolling. The event on_scroll_complete is used
in refreshing the main view.
For a simple list of string items, without selection, use SimpleListAdapter. For list items that
respond to selection, ranging from simple items to advanced composites, use ListAdapter. For
an alternate powerful adapter, use DictAdapter, rounding out the choice for designing highly
interactive lists.
Events
on_scroll_complete: (boolean, )Fired when scrolling completes.
container
The container is a GridLayout widget held within a ScrollView widget. (See the associated kv block in the Builder.load_string() setup). Item view instances managed and
provided by the adapter are added to this container. The container is cleared with a call
to clear_widgets() when the list is rebuilt by the populate() method. A padding Widget
instance is also added as needed, depending on the row height calculations.
container is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
divider
[TODO] Not used.
divider_height
[TODO] Not used.
item_strings
If item_strings is provided, create an instance of SimpleListAdapter with this list of
strings, and use it to manage a no-selection list.
item_strings is a ListProperty and defaults to [].
row_height
The row_height property is calculated on the basis of the height of the container and the
count of items.
row_height is a NumericProperty and defaults to None.
scrolling
If the scroll_to() method is called while scrolling operations are happening, a call recursion
error can occur. scroll_to() checks to see that scrolling is False before calling populate().
scroll_to() dispatches a scrolling_complete event, which sets scrolling back to False.
scrolling is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
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34.24 ModalView
The ModalView widget is used to create modal views. By default, the view will cover the whole
parent window.
Remember that the default size of a Widget is size_hint=(1, 1). If you dont want your view to be
fullscreen, either use size hints with values lower than 1 (for instance size_hint=(.8, .8)) or deactivate
the size_hint and use fixed size attributes.
34.24.1 Examples
Example of a simple 400x400 Hello world view:
view = ModalView(size_hint=(None, None), size=(400, 400))
view.add_widget(Label(text='Hello world'))
By default, any click outside the view will dismiss it.

ModalView.auto_dismiss to False:
If you dont want that, you can set
view = ModalView(auto_dismiss=False)
view.open()
To manually dismiss/close the view, use the ModalView.dismiss() method of the ModalView instance:
view.dismiss()
Both ModalView.open() and ModalView.dismiss() are bindable. That means you can directly
bind the function to an action, e.g. to a buttons on_press
# create content and add it to the view
content = Button(text='Close me!')
view = ModalView(auto_dismiss=False)
view.add_widget(content)
# bind the on_press event of the button to the dismiss function
content.bind(on_press=view.dismiss)
# open the view
view.open()
34.24.2 ModalView Events

There are two events available: on_open which is raised when the view is opening, and on_dismiss which
is raised when the view is closed. For on_dismiss, you can prevent the view from closing by explictly
returning True from your callback.
def my_callback(instance):
print('ModalView', instance, 'is being dismissed, but is prevented!')
return True
view = ModalView()
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view.bind(on_dismiss=my_callback)
view.open()
Changed in version 1.5.0: The ModalView can be closed by hitting the escape key on the keyboard if
the ModalView.auto_dismiss property is True (the default).
class kivy.uix.modalview.ModalView(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.anchorlayout.AnchorLayout
ModalView class. See module documentation for more information.
Events
on_open:Fired when the ModalView is opened.
on_dismiss:Fired when the ModalView is closed. If the callback returns True, the
dismiss will be canceled.
attach_to
If a widget is set on attach_to, the view will attach to the nearest parent window of the
widget. If none is found, it will attach to the main/global Window.
attach_to is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
auto_dismiss
This property determines if the view is automatically dismissed when the user clicks outside
it.
auto_dismiss is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True.
background
Background image of the view used for the view background.
background is a StringProperty and defaults to atlas://data/images/defaulttheme/modalviewbackground.
background_color
Background color in the format (r, g, b, a).
background_color is a ListProperty and defaults to [0, 0, 0, .7].
border
Border used for BorderImage graphics instruction. Used for the background_normal
and the background_down properties. Can be used when using custom backgrounds.
It must be a list of four values: (top, right, bottom, left). Read the BorderImage instructions
border is a ListProperty and defaults to (16, 16, 16, 16).
dismiss(*largs, **kwargs)
Close the view if it is open. If you really want to close the view, whatever the on_dismiss
event returns, you can use the force argument:
view = ModalView(...)
view.dismiss(force=True)
When the view is dismissed, it will be faded out before being removed from the parent. If
you dont want animation, use:
view.dismiss(animation=False)
open(*largs)
Show the view window from the attach_to widget. If set, it will attach to the nearest
window. If the widget is not attached to any window, the view will attach to the global
Window.
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34.25 PageLayout
The PageLayout class is used to create a simple multi-page layout, in a way that allows easy flipping
from one page to another using borders.
PageLayout does not currently honor size_hint or pos_hint properties.
Example:
PageLayout:
Button:
text: 'page1'
Button:
text: 'page2'
Button:
text: 'page3'
Transitions from one page to the next are made by swiping in from the border areas on the right or left
hand side. If you wish to display multiple widgets in a page, we suggest you use a containing layout.
Ideally, each page should consist of a single layout widget that contains the remaining widgets on
that page.
class kivy.uix.pagelayout.PageLayout(**kwargs)
PageLayout class. See module documentation for more information.
border
The width of the border around the current page used to display the previous/next page
swipe areas when needed.
border is a NumericProperty and defaults to 50dp.
page
The currently displayed page.
page is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
swipe_threshold
The thresold used to trigger swipes as percentage of the widget size.
swipe_threshold is a NumericProperty and defaults to .5.
34.26 Popup
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The Popup widget is used to create modal popups. By default, the popup will cover the whole parent
window. When you are creating a popup, you must at least set a Popup.title and Popup.content.
Remember that the default size of a Widget is size_hint=(1, 1). If you dont want your popup to be
fullscreen, either use size hints with values less than 1 (for instance size_hint=(.8, .8)) or deactivate the
size_hint and use fixed size attributes.
Changed in version 1.4.0: The Popup class now inherits from ModalView. The Popup offers a default
layout with a title and a separation bar.
34.26.1 Examples
Example of a simple 400x400 Hello world popup:
popup = Popup(title='Test popup',
content=Label(text='Hello world'),
size_hint=(None, None), size=(400, 400))
By default, any click outside the popup will dismiss/close it. If you dont want that, you can set
auto_dismiss to False:
popup = Popup(title='Test popup', content=Label(text='Hello world'),
auto_dismiss=False)
popup.open()
To manually dismiss/close the popup, use dismiss:

popup.dismiss()
Both open() and dismiss() are bindable. That means you can directly bind the function to an action,
e.g. to a buttons on_press:
# create content and add to the popup
content = Button(text='Close me!')
popup = Popup(content=content, auto_dismiss=False)
# bind the on_press event of the button to the dismiss function
content.bind(on_press=popup.dismiss)
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# open the popup

popup.open()
34.26.2 Popup Events

There are two events available: on_open which is raised when the popup is opening, and on_dismiss
which is raised when the popup is closed. For on_dismiss, you can prevent the popup from closing by
explictly returning True from your callback:
def my_callback(instance):
print('Popup', instance, 'is being dismissed but is prevented!')
return True
popup = Popup(content=Label(text='Hello world'))
popup.bind(on_dismiss=my_callback)
popup.open()
class kivy.uix.popup.Popup(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.modalview.ModalView
Popup class. See module documentation for more information.
Events
on_open:Fired when the Popup is opened.
on_dismiss:Fired when the Popup is closed. If the callback returns True, the
dismiss will be canceled.
content
Content of the popup that is displayed just under the title.
content is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
separator_color
Color used by the separator between title and content.
separator_color is a ListProperty and defaults to [47 / 255., 167 / 255., 212 / 255.,
1.]
separator_height
Height of the separator.
separator_height is a NumericProperty and defaults to 2dp.
title
String that represents the title of the popup.
title is a StringProperty and defaults to No title.
title_align
Horizontal alignment of the title.
title_align is a OptionProperty and defaults to left. Available options are left, center, right and justify.
title_color
Color used by the Title.
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title_color is a ListProperty and defaults to [1, 1, 1, 1].

title_font
Font used to render the title text.
title_font is a StringProperty and defaults to Roboto.
title_size
Represents the font size of the popup title.
title_size is a NumericProperty and defaults to 14sp.
exception kivy.uix.popup.PopupException
Bases: Exception
Popup exception, fired when multiple content widgets are added to the popup.
34.27 Progress Bar

The ProgressBar widget is used to visualize the progress of some task. Only the horizontal mode is
currently supported: the vertical mode is not yet available.
The progress bar has no interactive elements and is a display-only widget.
To use it, simply assign a value to indicate the current progress:
from kivy.uix.progressbar import ProgressBar
pb = ProgressBar(max=1000)
# this will update the graphics automatically (75% done)
pb.value = 750
class kivy.uix.progressbar.ProgressBar(**kwargs)
Class for creating a progress bar widget.
See module documentation for more details.
max
Maximum value allowed for value.
value
Current value used for the slider.
value is an AliasProperty that returns the value of the progress bar. If the value is < 0
or > max, it will be normalized to those boundaries.
Changed in version 1.6.0: The value is now limited to between 0 and max.
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value_normalized
Normalized value inside the range 0-1:
>>> pb = ProgressBar(value=50, max=100)
>>> pb.value
50
>>> slider.value_normalized
0.5
value_normalized is an AliasProperty.
34.28 Relative Layout

This layout allows you to set relative coordinates for children. If you want absolute positioning, use the
FloatLayout.
The RelativeLayout class behaves just like the regular FloatLayout except that its child widgets
are positioned relative to the layout.
When a widget with position = (0,0) is added to a RelativeLayout, the child widget will also move when
the position of the RelativeLayout is changed. The child widgets coordinates remain (0,0) as they are
always relative to the parent layout.
34.28.1 Coordinate Systems

Window coordinates
By default, theres only one coordinate system that defines the position of widgets and touch events
dispatched to them: the window coordinate system, which places (0, 0) at the bottom left corner of
the window. Although there are other coordinate systems defined, e.g. local and parent coordinates,
these coordinate systems are identical to the window coordinate system as long as a relative layout type
widget is not in the widgets parent stack. When widget.pos is read or a touch is received, the coordinate
values are in parent coordinates, but as mentioned, these are identical to window coordinates, even in
complex widget stacks.
For example:
BoxLayout:
Label:
text: 'Left'
Button:
text: 'Middle'
on_touch_down: print('Middle: {}'.format(args[1].pos))
BoxLayout:
on_touch_down: print('Box: {}'.format(args[1].pos))
Button:
text: 'Right'
on_touch_down: print('Right: {}'.format(args[1].pos))
When the middle button is clicked and the touch propagates through the different parent coordinate
systems, it prints the following:
>>> Box: (430.0, 282.0)
>>> Right: (430.0, 282.0)
>>> Middle: (430.0, 282.0)
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As claimed, the touch has identical coordinates to the window coordinates in every coordinate system.
collide_point() for example, takes the point in window coordinates.
Parent coordinates
Other RelativeLayout type widgets are Scatter, ScatterLayout, and ScrollView. If such a
special widget is in the parent stack, only then does the parent and local coordinate system diverge
from the window coordinate system. For each such widget in the stack, a coordinate system with (0, 0)
of that coordinate system being at the bottom left corner of that widget is created. Position and touch
coordinates received and read by a widget are in the coordinate system of the most recent special
widget in its parent stack (not including itself) or in window coordinates if there are none (as in the
first example). We call these coordinates parent coordinates.
For example:
BoxLayout:
Label:
text: 'Left'
Button:
text: 'Middle'
on_touch_down: print('Middle: {}'.format(args[1].pos))
RelativeLayout:
on_touch_down: print('Relative: {}'.format(args[1].pos))
Button:
text: 'Right'
on_touch_down: print('Right: {}'.format(args[1].pos))
Clicking on the middle button prints:

>>> Relative: (396.0, 298.0)
>>> Right: (-137.33, 298.0)
>>> Middle: (396.0, 298.0)
As the touch propagates through the widgets, for each widget, the touch is received in parent coordinates. Because both the relative and middle widgets dont have these special widgets in their parent
stack, the touch is the same as window coordinates. Only the right widget, which has a RelativeLayout
in its parent stack, receives the touch in coordinates relative to that RelativeLayout which is different
than window coordinates.
Local and Widget coordinates
When expressed in parent coordinates, the position is expressed in the coordinates of the most recent
special widget in its parent stack, not including itself. When expressed in local or widget coordinates,
the widgets themselves are also included.
Changing the above example to transform the parent coordinates into local coordinates:
BoxLayout:
Label:
text: 'Left'
Button:
text: 'Middle'
on_touch_down: print('Middle: {}'.format(self.to_local(*args[1].pos)))
RelativeLayout:
on_touch_down: print('Relative: {}'.format(self.to_local(*args[1].pos)))
Button:
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text: 'Right'
on_touch_down: print('Right: {}'.format(self.to_local(*args[1].pos)))
Now, clicking on the middle button prints:

>>> Relative: (-135.33, 301.0)
>>> Right: (-135.33, 301.0)
>>> Middle: (398.0, 301.0)
This is because now the relative widget also expresses the coordinates relative to itself.
Coordinate transformations
Widget provides 4 functions to transform coordinates between the various coordinate systems.
For now, we assume that the relative keyword of these functions is False. to_widget() takes
the coordinates expressed in window coordinates and returns them in local (widget) coordinates.
to_window() takes the coordinates expressed in local coordinates and returns them in window coordinates. to_parent() takes the coordinates expressed in local coordinates and returns them in
parent coordinates. to_local() takes the coordinates expressed in parent coordinates and returns
them in local coordinates.
Each of the 4 transformation functions take a relative parameter. When the relative parameter is True,
the coordinates are returned or originate in true relative coordinates - relative to a coordinate system
with its (0, 0) at the bottom left corner of the widget in question.
34.28.2 Common Pitfalls

As all positions within a RelativeLayout are relative to the position of the layout itself, the position
of the layout should never be used in determining the position of sub-widgets or the layouts canvas.
Take the following kv code for example:
Fig. 34.1: expected result
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Fig. 34.2: actual result
FloatLayout:
Widget:
size: 200, 200
pos: 200, 200
canvas:
Color:
rgba: 1, 1, 1, 1
Rectangle:
pos: self.pos
size: self.size
RelativeLayout:
size: 200, 200
pos: 200, 200
canvas:
Color:
rgba: 1, 0, 0, 0.5
Rectangle:
pos: self.pos # incorrect
size: self.size
You might expect this to render a single pink rectangle; however, the content of the RelativeLayout
is already transformed, so the use of pos: self.pos will double that transformation. In this case, using pos:
0, 0 or omitting pos completely will provide the expected result.
This also applies to the position of sub-widgets. Instead of positioning a Widget based on the layouts
own position:
RelativeLayout:
Widget:
pos: self.parent.pos
Widget:
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...use the pos_hint property:

RelativeLayout:
Widget:
pos_hint: {'x': 0, 'y': 0}
Widget:
pos_hint: {'center_x': 0.5, 'center_y': 0.5}
Changed in version 1.7.0: Prior to version 1.7.0, the RelativeLayout was implemented as a
FloatLayout inside a Scatter. This behaviour/widget has been renamed to ScatterLayout. The
RelativeLayout now only supports relative positions (and cant be rotated, scaled or translated on
a multitouch system using two or more fingers). This was done so that the implementation could be
optimized and avoid the heavier calculations of Scatter (e.g. inverse matrix, recaculating multiple
properties etc.)
class kivy.uix.relativelayout.RelativeLayout(**kw)
RelativeLayout class, see module documentation for more information.
34.29 Sandbox
This is a widget that runs itself and all of its children in a Sandbox. That means if a child raises an
Exception, it will be caught. The Sandbox itself runs its own Clock, Cache, etc.
The SandBox widget is still experimental and required for the Kivy designer. When the user designs
their own widget, if they do something wrong (wrong size value, invalid python code), it will be caught
correctly without breaking the whole application. Because it has been designed that way, we are still
enhancing this widget and the kivy.context module. Dont use it unless you know what you are
doing.
class kivy.uix.sandbox.Sandbox(**kwargs)
Sandbox widget, used to trap all the exceptions raised by child widgets.
on_context_created()
Override this method in order to load your kv file or do anything else with the newly created
context.
on_exception(exception, _traceback=None)
Override this method in order to catch all the exceptions from children.
If you return True, it will not reraise the exception. If you return False, the exception will be
raised to the parent.
Receive a touch down event.
Parameters
touch: MotionEvent classTouch received. The touch is in parent coordinates. See relativelayout for a discussion on coordinate systems.
Returnsbool. If True, the dispatching of the touch event will stop. If False, the
event will continue to be dispatched to the rest of the widget tree.
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Receive a touch move event. The touch is in parent coordinates.
See on_touch_down() for more information.
on_touch_up(touch)
Receive a touch up event. The touch is in parent coordinates.
34.30 Scatter
Scatter is used to build interactive widgets that can be translated, rotated and scaled with two or
more fingers on a multitouch system.
Scatter has its own matrix transformation: the modelview matrix is changed before the children are
drawn and the previous matrix is restored when the drawing is finished. That makes it possible to
perform rotation, scaling and translation over the entire children tree without changing any widget
properties. That specific behavior makes the scatter unique, but there are some advantages / constraints
that you should consider:
1. The children are positioned relative to the scatter similar to a RelativeLayout (see
relativelayout). So when dragging the scatter, the position of the children dont change,
only the position of the scatter does.
2. The scatter size has no impact on the size of its children.
3. If you want to resize the scatter, use scale, not size (read #2). Scale transforms both the scatter and
its children, but does not change size.
4. The scatter is not a layout. You must manage the size of the children yourself.
For touch events, the scatter converts from the parent matrix to the scatter matrix automatically
in on_touch_down/move/up events. If you are doing things manually, you will need to use
to_parent() and to_local().
34.30.1 Usage
By default, the Scatter does not have a graphical representation: it is a container only. The idea is to
combine the Scatter with another widget, for example an Image:
scatter = Scatter()
image = Image(source='sun.jpg')
scatter.add_widget(image)
34.30.2 Control Interactions

By default, all interactions are enabled.
do_translation and do_scale properties.
You can selectively disable them using the do_rotation,
Disable rotation:
scatter = Scatter(do_rotation=False)
Allow only translation:

scatter = Scatter(do_rotation=False, do_scale=False)
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Allow only translation on x axis:

scatter = Scatter(do_rotation=False, do_scale=False,
do_translation_y=False)
34.30.3 Automatic Bring to Front

If the Scatter.auto_bring_to_front property is True, the scatter widget will be removed and readded to the parent when it is touched (brought to front, above all other widgets in the parent). This is
useful when you are manipulating several scatter widgets and dont want the active one to be partially
hidden.
34.30.4 Scale Limitation

We are using a 32-bit matrix in double representation. That means we have a limit for scaling. You
cannot do infinite scaling down/up with our implementation. Generally, you dont hit the minimum
scale (because you dont see it on the screen), but the maximum scale is 9.99506983235e+19 (2^66).
You can also limit the minimum and maximum scale allowed:
scatter = Scatter(scale_min=.5, scale_max=3.)
34.30.5 Behavior
Changed in version 1.1.0: If no control interactions are enabled, then the touch handler will never return
True.
class kivy.uix.scatter.Scatter(**kwargs)
Scatter class. See module documentation for more information.
Events
on_transform_with_touch:Fired when the scatter has been transformed by user
touch or multitouch, such as panning or zooming.
on_bring_to_front:Fired when the scatter is brought to the front.
Changed in version 1.9.0: Event on_bring_to_front added.
Changed in version 1.8.0: Event on_transform_with_touch added.
apply_transform(trans, post_multiply=False, anchor=(0, 0))
Transforms the scatter by applying the trans transformation matrix (on top of its current
transformation state). The resultant matrix can be found in the transform property.
Parameters
trans: Matrix.Transformation matix to be applied to the scatter widget.
anchor: tuple, defaults to (0, 0).The point to use as the origin of the transformation (uses local widget space).
post_multiply: bool, defaults to False.If True, the transform matrix is post
multiplied (as if applied before the current transform).
Usage example:
from kivy.graphics.transformation import Matrix
mat = Matrix().scale(3, 3, 3)
scatter_instance.apply_transform(mat)
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auto_bring_to_front
If True, the widget will be automatically pushed on the top of parent widget list for drawing.
auto_bring_to_front is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True.
bbox
Bounding box of the widget in parent space:
((x, y), (w, h))
# x, y = lower left corner
bbox is an AliasProperty.
do_collide_after_children
If True, the collision detection for limiting the touch inside the scatter will be done after
dispaching the touch to the children. You can put children outside the bounding box of the
scatter and still be able to touch them.
do_rotation
Allow rotation.
do_rotation is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True.
do_scale
Allow scaling.
do_scale is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True.
do_translation
Allow translation on the X or Y axis.
do_translation
is
do_translation_y)
an
AliasProperty
of
(do_translation_x
do_translation_x
Allow translation on the X axis.
do_translation_x is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True.
do_translation_y
Allow translation on Y axis.
do_translation_y is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True.
on_bring_to_front(touch)
Called when a touch event causes the scatter to be brought to the front of the parent (only if
auto_bring_to_front is True)
Parameterstouch: the touch object which brought the scatter to front.
on_transform_with_touch(touch)
Called when a touch event has transformed the scatter widget. By default this does nothing,
but can be overriden by derived classes that need to react to transformations caused by user
input.
Parameterstouch: the touch object which triggered the transformation.
rotation
Rotation value of the scatter.
rotation is an AliasProperty and defaults to 0.0.
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scale
Scale value of the scatter.
scale is an AliasProperty and defaults to 1.0.
scale_max
Maximum scaling factor allowed.
scale_max is a NumericProperty and defaults to 1e20.
scale_min
Minimum scaling factor allowed.
scale_min is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.01.
transform
Transformation matrix.
transform is an ObjectProperty and defaults to the identity matrix.
Note: This matrix reflects the current state of the transformation matrix but setting it directly will erase previously applied transformations. To apply a transformation considering
context, please use the apply_transform method.
transform_inv
Inverse of the transformation matrix.
transform_inv is an ObjectProperty and defaults to the identity matrix.
translation_touches
Determine whether translation was triggered by a single or multiple touches. This only has
effect when do_translation = True.
translation_touches is a NumericProperty and defaults to 1.
class kivy.uix.scatter.ScatterPlane(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.scatter.Scatter
This is essentially an unbounded Scatter widget. Its a convenience class to make it easier to
handle infinite planes.
34.31 Scatter Layout

This layout behaves just like a RelativeLayout. When a widget is added with position =
(0,0) to a ScatterLayout, the child widget will also move when you change the position of the
ScatterLayout. The child widgets coordinates remain (0,0) as they are relative to the parent layout.
However, since ScatterLayout is implemented using a Scatter widget, you can also translate,
rotate and scale the layout using touches or clicks, just like in the case of a normal Scatter widget, and
the child widgets will behave as expected.
In contrast to a Scatter, the Layout favours hint properties, such as size_hint, size_hint_x, size_hint_y
and pos_hint.
Note: The ScatterLayout is implemented as a FloatLayout inside a Scatter.
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Warning: Since the actual ScatterLayout is a Scatter, its add_widget and remove_widget
functions are overridden to add children to the embedded FloatLayout (accessible as the content
property of Scatter) automatically. So if you want to access the added child elements, you need
self.content.children instead of self.children.
Warning: The ScatterLayout was introduced in 1.7.0 and was called RelativeLayout in prior
versions. The RelativeLayout is now an optimized implementation that uses only a positional
transform to avoid some of the heavier calculation involved for Scatter.
class kivy.uix.scatterlayout.ScatterLayout(**kw)
ScatterLayout class, see module documentation for more information.
class kivy.uix.scatterlayout.ScatterPlaneLayout(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.scatter.ScatterPlane
ScatterPlaneLayout class, see module documentation for more information.
Similar to ScatterLayout, but based on ScatterPlane - so the input is not bounded.
34.32 Screen Manager

The screen manager is a widget dedicated to managing multiple screens for your application. The
default ScreenManager displays only one Screen at a time and uses a TransitionBase to switch
from one Screen to another.
Multiple transitions are supported based on changing the screen coordinates / scale or even performing
fancy animation using custom shaders.
34.32.1 Basic Usage

Lets construct a Screen Manager with 4 named screens. When you are creating a screen, you absolutely
need to give a name to it:
from kivy.uix.screenmanager import ScreenManager, Screen
# Create the manager
sm = ScreenManager()
# Add few screens
for i in range(4):
screen = Screen(name='Title %d' % i)
sm.add_widget(screen)
# By default, the first screen added into the ScreenManager will be
# displayed. You can then change to another screen.
# Let's display the screen named 'Title 2'
# A transition will automatically be used.
sm.current = 'Title 2'
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The default ScreenManager.transition is a SlideTransition with options direction and

duration.
Please note that by default, a Screen displays nothing: its just a RelativeLayout. You need to use
that class as a root widget for your own screen, the best way being to subclass.
Warning: As Screen is a RelativeLayout, it is important to understand the Common Pitfalls.
Here is an example with a Menu Screen and a Settings Screen:
# Create both screens. Please note the root.manager.current: this is how
# you can control the ScreenManager from kv. Each screen has by default a
# property manager that gives you the instance of the ScreenManager used.
<MenuScreen>:
BoxLayout:
Button:
text: 'Goto settings'
on_press: root.manager.current = 'settings'
Button:
text: 'Quit'
<SettingsScreen>:
BoxLayout:
Button:
text: 'My settings button'
Button:
text: 'Back to menu'
on_press: root.manager.current = 'menu'
""")
# Declare both screens
class MenuScreen(Screen):
pass
class SettingsScreen(Screen):
pass
# Create the screen manager
sm.add_widget(MenuScreen(name='menu'))
sm.add_widget(SettingsScreen(name='settings'))
class TestApp(App):
def build(self):
return sm
if __name__ == '__main__':
TestApp().run()
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34.32.2 Changing Direction

A common use case for ScreenManager involves using a SlideTransition which slides right to
the next screen and slides left to the previous screen. Building on the previous example, this can be
accomplished like so:
<MenuScreen>:
BoxLayout:
Button:
text: 'Goto settings'
on_press:
root.manager.transition.direction = 'left'
root.manager.current = 'settings'
Button:
text: 'Quit'
<SettingScreen>:
BoxLayout:
Button:
text: 'My settings button'
Button:
text: 'Back to menu'
on_press:
root.manager.transition.direction = 'right'
root.manager.current = 'menu'
""")
34.32.3 Advanced Usage

From 1.8.0, you can now switch dynamically to a new screen, change the transition options and remove
the previous one by using switch_to():
screens = [Screen(name='Title {}'.format(i)) for i in range(4)]
sm.switch_to(screens[0])
# later
sm.switch_to(screens[1], direction='right')
Note that this method adds the screen to the ScreenManager instance and should not be used if your
screens have already been added to this instance. To switch to a screen which is already added, you
should use the current property.
34.32.4 Changing transitions

You have multiple transitions available by default, such as:
NoTransition - switches screens instantly with no animation
SlideTransition - slide the screen in/out, from any direction
SwapTransition - implementation of the iOS swap transition
FadeTransition - shader to fade the screen in/out
WipeTransition - shader to wipe the screens from right to left
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FallOutTransition - shader where the old screen falls and becomes transparent, revealing
the new one behind it.
RiseInTransition - shader where the new screen rises from the screen centre while fading
from transparent to opaque.
You can easily switch transitions by changing the ScreenManager.transition property:
sm = ScreenManager(transition=FadeTransition())
Note: Currently, none of Shader based Transitions use anti-aliasing. This is because they use the FBO
which doesnt have any logic to handle supersampling. This is a known issue and we are working on a
transparent implementation that will give the same results as if it had been rendered on screen.
To be more concrete, if you see sharp edged text during the animation, its normal.
class kivy.uix.screenmanager.Screen(**kw)
Screen is an element intended to be used with a ScreenManager. Check module documentation
Events
on_pre_enter: ()Event fired when the screen is about to be used: the entering
animation is started.
on_enter: ()Event fired when the screen is displayed: the entering animation is
complete.
on_pre_leave: ()Event fired when the screen is about to be removed: the leaving
animation is started.
on_leave: ()Event fired when the screen is removed: the leaving animation is
finished.
Changed in version 1.6.0: Events on_pre_enter, on_enter, on_pre_leave and on_leave were added.
manager
ScreenManager object, set when the screen is added to a manager.
manager is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None, read-only.
name
Name of the screen which must be unique within a ScreenManager. This is the name used
for ScreenManager.current.
name is a StringProperty and defaults to .
transition_progress
Value that represents the completion of the current transition, if any is occuring.
If a transition is in progress, whatever the mode, the value will change from 0 to 1. If you
want to know if its an entering or leaving animation, check the transition_state.
transition_progress is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
transition_state
Value that represents the state of the transition:
in if the transition is going to show your screen
out if the transition is going to hide your screen
After the transition is complete, the state will retain its last value (in or out).
transition_state is an OptionProperty and defaults to out.
class kivy.uix.screenmanager.ScreenManager(**kwargs)
Screen manager. This is the main class that will control your Screen stack and memory.
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By default, the manager will show only one screen at a time.

current
Name of the screen currently shown, or the screen to show.
sm.add_widget(Screen(name='first'))
sm.add_widget(Screen(name='second'))
# By default, the first added screen will be shown. If you want to
# show another one, just set the 'current' property.
sm.current = 'second'
current_screen
Contains the currently displayed screen. You must not change this property manually, use
current instead.
current_screen is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None, read-only.
get_screen(name)
Return the screen widget associated with the name or raise a ScreenManagerException
if not found.
has_screen(name)
Return True if a screen with the name has been found.
next()
Return the name of the next screen from the screen list.
previous()
Return the name of the previous screen from the screen list.
screen_names
List of the names of all the Screen widgets added. The list is read only.
screens_names is an AliasProperty and is read-only. It is updated if the screen list
changes or the name of a screen changes.
screens
List of all the Screen widgets added. You should not change this list manually. Use the
add_widget method instead.
screens is a ListProperty and defaults to [], read-only.
switch_to(screen, **options)
Add a new screen to the ScreenManager and switch to it. The previous screen will be removed from the children. options are the transition options that will be changed before
the animation happens.
If no previous screens are available, the screen will be used as the main one:
sm.switch_to(screen1)
# later
sm.switch_to(screen2, direction='left')
# later
sm.switch_to(screen3, direction='right', duration=1.)
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If any animation is in progress, it will be stopped and replaced by this one: you should avoid
this because the animation will just look weird. Use either switch_to() or current but
not both.
The screen name will be changed if there is any conflict with the current screen.
transition
Transition object to use for animating the screen that will be hidden and the screen that will
be shown. By default, an instance of SlideTransition will be given.
For example, if you want to change to a WipeTransition:
from kivy.uix.screenmanager import ScreenManager, Screen,
WipeTransition
sm = ScreenManager(transition=WipeTransition())
sm.add_widget(Screen(name='first'))
sm.add_widget(Screen(name='second'))
# by default, the first added screen will be shown. If you want to
# show another one, just set the 'current' property.
sm.current = 'second'
Changed in version 1.8.0: Default transition has been changed from SwapTransition to
SlideTransition.
exception kivy.uix.screenmanager.ScreenManagerException
Bases: Exception
Exception for the ScreenManager.
class kivy.uix.screenmanager.TransitionBase
TransitionBase is used to animate 2 screens within the ScreenManager. This class acts as a base
for other implementations like the SlideTransition and SwapTransition.
Events
on_progress: Transition object, progression floatFired during the animation of
the transition.
on_complete: Transition objectFired when the transition is fininshed.
add_screen(screen)
(internal) Used to add a screen to the ScreenManager.
duration
Duration in seconds of the transition.
duration is a NumericProperty and defaults to .4 (= 400ms).
Changed in version 1.8.0: Default duration has been changed from 700ms to 400ms.
is_active
Indicate whether the transition is currently active or not.
is_active is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False, read-only.
manager
ScreenManager object, set when the screen is added to a manager.
manager is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None, read-only.
remove_screen(screen)
(internal) Used to remove a screen from the ScreenManager.
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screen_in
Property that contains the screen to show. Automatically set by the ScreenManager.
screen_in is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
screen_out
Property that contains the screen to hide. Automatically set by the ScreenManager.
screen_out is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
start(manager)
(internal) Starts the transition. This is automatically called by the ScreenManager.
stop()
(internal) Stops the transition. This is automatically called by the ScreenManager.
class kivy.uix.screenmanager.ShaderTransition
Bases: kivy.uix.screenmanager.TransitionBase
Transition class that uses a Shader for animating the transition between 2 screens. By default,
this class doesnt assign any fragment/vertex shader. If you want to create your own fragment
shader for the transition, you need to declare the header yourself and include the t, tex_in
and tex_out uniform:
# Create your own transition. This shader implements a "fading"
# transition.
fs = """$HEADER
uniform float t;
uniform sampler2D tex_in;
uniform sampler2D tex_out;
void main(void) {
vec4 cin = texture2D(tex_in, tex_coord0);
vec4 cout = texture2D(tex_out, tex_coord0);
gl_FragColor = mix(cout, cin, t);
}
"""
# And create your transition
tr = ShaderTransition(fs=fs)
sm = ScreenManager(transition=tr)
clearcolor
Sets the color of Fbo ClearColor.
clearcolor is a ListProperty and defaults to [0, 0, 0, 1].
fs
Fragment shader to use.
fs is a StringProperty and defaults to None.
vs
Vertex shader to use.
vs is a StringProperty and defaults to None.
class kivy.uix.screenmanager.SlideTransition
Slide Transition, can be used to show a new screen from any direction: left, right, up or down.
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direction
Direction of the transition.
direction is an OptionProperty and defaults to left. Can be one of left, right, up
or down.
class kivy.uix.screenmanager.SwapTransition
Swap transition that looks like iOS transition when a new window appears on the screen.
class kivy.uix.screenmanager.FadeTransition
Bases: kivy.uix.screenmanager.ShaderTransition
Fade transition, based on a fragment Shader.
class kivy.uix.screenmanager.WipeTransition
Wipe transition, based on a fragment Shader.
class kivy.uix.screenmanager.FallOutTransition
Transition where the new screen falls from the screen centre, becoming smaller and more transparent until it disappears, and revealing the new screen behind it. Mimics the popular/standard
Android transition.
duration
Duration in seconds of the transition, replacing the default of TransitionBase.
class kivy.uix.screenmanager.RiseInTransition
Transition where the new screen rises from the screen centre, becoming larger and changing from
transparent to opaque until it fills the screen. Mimics the popular/standard Android transition.
duration
Duration in seconds of the transition, replacing the default of TransitionBase.
class kivy.uix.screenmanager.NoTransition
No transition, instantly switches to the next screen with no delay or animation.
34.33 Scroll View

The ScrollView widget provides a scrollable/pannable viewport that is clipped at the scrollviews
bounding box.
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34.33.1 Scrolling Behavior

The ScrollView accepts only one child and applies a viewport/window to it according to the
ScrollView.scroll_x and ScrollView.scroll_y properties. Touches are analyzed to determine if the user wants to scroll or control the child in some other manner - you cannot do both at the
same time. To determine if interaction is a scrolling gesture, these properties are used:
ScrollView.scroll_distance: the minimum distance to travel, defaults to 20 pixels.
ScrollView.scroll_timeout: the maximum time period, defaults to 250 milliseconds.
If a touch travels scroll_distance pixels within the scroll_timeout period, it is recognized as a
scrolling gesture and translation (scroll/pan) will begin. If the timeout occurs, the touch down event is
dispatched to the child instead (no translation).
The default value for those settings can be changed in the configuration file:
[widgets]
scroll_timeout = 250
scroll_distance = 20
New in version 1.1.1: ScrollView now animates scrolling in Y when a mousewheel is used.
34.33.2 Limiting to the X or Y Axis

By default, the ScrollView allows scrolling in both the X and Y axes. You can explicitly disable scrolling
on an axis by setting ScrollView.do_scroll_x or ScrollView.do_scroll_y to False.
34.33.3 Managing the Content Size and Position

ScrollView manages the position of its children similarly to a RelativeLayout (see relativelayout)
but not the size. You must carefully specify the size_hint of your content to get the desired scroll/pan
effect.
By default, size_hint is (1, 1), so the content size will fit your ScrollView exactly (you will have nothing
to scroll). You must deactivate at least one of the size_hint instructions (x or y) of the child to enable
scrolling.
To scroll a GridLayout on Y-axis/vertically, set the childs width identical to that of the ScrollView
(size_hint_x=1, default), and set the size_hint_y property to None:
layout = GridLayout(cols=1, spacing=10, size_hint_y=None)
# Make sure the height is such that there is something to scroll.
layout.bind(minimum_height=layout.setter('height'))
for i in range(30):
btn = Button(text=str(i), size_hint_y=None, height=40)
layout.add_widget(btn)
root = ScrollView(size_hint=(None, None), size=(400, 400))
root.add_widget(layout)
34.33.4 Overscroll Effects

When scrolling would exceed the bounds of the ScrollView, it uses a ScrollEffect to handle the
overscroll. These effects can perform actions like bouncing back, changing opacity, or simply preventing
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scrolling beyond the normal boundaries. Note that complex effects may perform many computations,
which can be slow on weaker hardware.
You can change what effect is being used by setting ScrollView.effect_cls to any effect class.
Current options include:
ScrollEffect: Does not allow scrolling beyond the ScrollView boundaries.
DampedScrollEffect: The current default. Allows the user to scroll beyond the normal boundaries, but has the content spring back once the touch/click is released.
OpacityScrollEffect: Similar to the DampedScrollEffect, but also reduces opacity during overscroll.
You can also create your own scroll effect by subclassing one of these, then pass it as the effect_cls
in the same way.
Alternatively, you can set ScrollView.effect_x and/or ScrollView.effect_y to an instance of
the effect you want to use. This will override the default effect set in ScrollView.effect_cls.
All the effects are located in the kivy.effects.
class kivy.uix.scrollview.ScrollView(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.stencilview.StencilView
ScrollView class. See module documentation for more information.
Events
on_scroll_startGeneric event fired when scrolling starts from touch.
on_scroll_moveGeneric event fired when scrolling move from touch.
on_scroll_stopGeneric event fired when scrolling stops from touch.
Changed in version 1.9.0: on_scroll_start, on_scroll_move and on_scroll_stop events are now dispatched when scrolling to handle nested ScrollViews.
Changed in version 1.7.0: auto_scroll, scroll_friction, scroll_moves, scroll_stoptime has been deprecated,
use :attr:effect_cls instead.
bar_color
Color of horizontal / vertical scroll bar, in RGBA format.
bar_color is a ListProperty and defaults to [.7, .7, .7, .9].
bar_inactive_color
Color of horizontal / vertical scroll bar (in RGBA format), when no scroll is happening.
bar_inactive_color is a ListProperty and defaults to [.7, .7, .7, .2].
bar_margin
Margin between the bottom / right side of the scrollview when drawing the horizontal /
vertical scroll bar.
bar_margin is a NumericProperty, default to 0
bar_pos
Which side of the scroll view to place each of the bars on.
bar_pos is a ReferenceListProperty of (bar_pos_x, bar_pos_y)
bar_pos_x
Which side of the ScrollView the horizontal scroll bar should go on. Possible values are top
and bottom.
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bar_pos_x is an OptionProperty, defaults to bottom.
bar_pos_y
Which side of the ScrollView the vertical scroll bar should go on. Possible values are left
and right.
bar_pos_y is an OptionProperty and defaults to right.
bar_width
Width of the horizontal / vertical scroll bar. The width is interpreted as a height for the
horizontal bar.
bar_width is a NumericProperty and defaults to 2.
convert_distance_to_scroll(dx, dy)
Convert a distance in pixels to a scroll distance, depending on the content size and the scrollview size.
The result will be a tuple of scroll distance that can be added to scroll_x and scroll_y
do_scroll
Allow scroll on X or Y axis.
do_scroll is a AliasProperty of (do_scroll_x + do_scroll_y)
do_scroll_x
Allow scroll on X axis.
do_scroll_x is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True.
do_scroll_y
Allow scroll on Y axis.
do_scroll_y is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True.
effect_cls
Class effect to instanciate for X and Y axis.
effect_cls is an ObjectProperty and defaults to DampedScrollEffect.
Changed in version 1.8.0: If you set a string, the Factory will be used to resolve the class.
effect_x
Effect to apply for the X axis. If None is set, an instance of effect_cls will be created.
effect_x is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
effect_y
Effect to apply for the Y axis. If None is set, an instance of effect_cls will be created.
effect_y is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None, read-only.
hbar
Return a tuple of (position, size) of the horizontal scrolling bar.
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The position and size are normalized between 0-1, and represent a percentage of the current
scrollview height. This property is used internally for drawing the little horizontal bar when
youre scrolling.
vbar is a AliasProperty, readonly.
scroll_distance
Distance to move before scrolling the ScrollView, in pixels. As soon as the distance has
been traveled, the ScrollView will start to scroll, and no touch event will go to children.
It is advisable that you base this value on the dpi of your target devices screen.
scroll_distance is a NumericProperty and defaults to 20 (pixels), according to the
default value in user configuration.
scroll_timeout
Timeout allowed to trigger the scroll_distance, in milliseconds. If the user has not
moved scroll_distance within the timeout, the scrolling will be disabled, and the touch
event will go to the children.
scroll_timeout is a NumericProperty and defaults to 55 (milliseconds) according to
the default value in user configuration.
Changed in version 1.5.0: Default value changed from 250 to 55.
scroll_to(widget, padding=10, animate=True)
Scrolls the viewport to ensure that the given widget is visible, optionally with padding and
animation. If animate is True (the default), then the default animation parameters will be
used. Otherwise, it should be a dict containing arguments to pass to Animation constructor.
scroll_type
Sets the type of scrolling to use for the content of the scrollview. Available options are:
[content], [bars], [bars, content].
scroll_type is a OptionProperty, defaults to [content].
scroll_wheel_distance
Distance to move when scrolling with a mouse wheel. It is advisable that you base this value
on the dpi of your target devices screen.
scroll_wheel_distance is a NumericProperty , defaults to 20 pixels.
scroll_x
X scrolling value, between 0 and 1. If 0, the contents left side will touch the left side of the
ScrollView. If 1, the contents right side will touch the right side.
This property is controled by ScrollView only if do_scroll_x is True.
scroll_x is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
scroll_y
Y scrolling value, between 0 and 1. If 0, the contents bottom side will touch the bottom side
of the ScrollView. If 1, the contents top side will touch the top side.
This property is controled by ScrollView only if do_scroll_y is True.
scroll_y is a NumericProperty and defaults to 1.
update_from_scroll(*largs)
Force the reposition of the content, according to current value of scroll_x and scroll_y.
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This method is automatically called when one of the scroll_x, scroll_y, pos or size
properties change, or if the size of the content changes.
vbar
Return a tuple of (position, size) of the vertical scrolling bar.
The position and size are normalized between 0-1, and represent a percentage of the current
scrollview height. This property is used internally for drawing the little vertical bar when
youre scrolling.
vbar is a AliasProperty, readonly.
viewport_size
(internal) Size of the internal viewport. This is the size of your only child in the scrollview.
34.34 Settings
This module provides a complete and extensible framework for adding a Settings interface to your application. By default, the interface uses a SettingsWithSpinner, which consists of a Spinner (top)
to switch between individual settings panels (bottom). See Different panel layouts for some alternatives.
A SettingsPanel represents a group of configurable options. The SettingsPanel.title property is used by Settings when a panel is added: it determines the name of the sidebar button. SettingsPanel controls a ConfigParser instance.
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The panel can be automatically constructed from a JSON definition file: you describe the settings you
want and corresponding sections/keys in the ConfigParser instance... and youre done!
Settings are also integrated into the App class. Use Settings.add_kivy_panel() to configure the
Kivy core settings in a panel.
34.34.1 Create a panel from JSON

To create a panel from a JSON-file, you need two things:
a ConfigParser instance with default values
a JSON file
Warning: The kivy.config.ConfigParser is required. You cannot use the default ConfigParser from Python libraries.
You must create and handle the ConfigParser object. SettingsPanel will read the values from the
associated ConfigParser instance. Make sure you have set default values (using setdefaults) for all
the sections/keys in your JSON file!
The JSON file contains structured information to describe the available settings. Here is an example:
[
{
"type": "title",
"title": "Windows"
},
{
"type": "bool",
"title": "Fullscreen",
"desc": "Set the window in windowed or fullscreen",
"section": "graphics",
"key": "fullscreen",
"true": "auto"
}
]
Each element in the root list represents a setting that the user can configure. Only the type key is
mandatory: an instance of the associated class will be created and used for the setting - other keys are
assigned to corresponding properties of that class.
Type
title
bool
numeric
options
string
path
Associated class
SettingTitle
SettingBoolean
SettingNumeric
SettingOptions
SettingString
SettingPath
New in version 1.1.0: Added SettingPath type

In the JSON example above, the first element is of type title. It will create a new instance of
SettingTitle and apply the rest of the key-value pairs to the properties of that class, i.e. title:
Windows sets the title property of the panel to Windows.
To load the JSON example to a Settings instance, use the Settings.add_json_panel() method.
It will automatically instantiate a SettingsPanel and add it to Settings:
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from kivy.config import ConfigParser

config = ConfigParser()
config.read('myconfig.ini')
s = Settings()
s.add_json_panel('My custom panel', config, 'settings_custom.json')
s.add_json_panel('Another panel', config, 'settings_test2.json')
# then use the s as a widget...
34.34.2 Different panel layouts

A kivy App can automatically create and display a Settings instance. See the settings_cls documentation for details on how to choose which settings class to display.
Several pre-built settings widgets are available. All except SettingsWithNoMenu include close buttons triggering the on_close event.
Settings: Displays settings with a sidebar at the left to switch between json panels.
SettingsWithSidebar: A trivial subclass of Settings.
SettingsWithSpinner: Displays settings with a spinner at the top, which can be used to switch
between json panels. Uses InterfaceWithSpinner as the interface_cls. This is the default
behavior from Kivy 1.8.0.
SettingsWithTabbedPanel: Displays json panels as individual tabs in a TabbedPanel. Uses
InterfaceWithTabbedPanel as the interface_cls.
SettingsWithNoMenu: Displays a single json panel, with no way to switch to other panels
and no close button. This makes it impossible for the user to exit unless close_settings() is
overridden with a different close trigger! Uses InterfaceWithNoMenu as the interface_cls.
You can construct your own settings panels with any layout you choose by setting
Settings.interface_cls. This should be a widget that displays a json settings panel with
some way to switch between panels. An instance will be automatically created by Settings.
Interface widgets may be anything you like, but must have a method add_panel that recieves
newly created json settings panels for the interface to display.
See the documentation for
InterfaceWithSidebar for more information. They may optionally dispatch an on_close event,
for instance if a close button is clicked. This event is used by Settings to trigger its own on_close
event.
For a complete, working example, please see kivy/examples/settings/main.py.
class kivy.uix.settings.Settings(*args, **kargs)
Settings UI. Check module documentation for more information on how to use this class.
Events
on_config_change: ConfigParser instance, section, key, valueFired when the
sections key-value pair of a ConfigParser changes.
on_closeFired by the default panel when the Close button is pressed.
add_interface()
(Internal) creates an instance of Settings.interface_cls, and sets it to interface.
When json panels are created, they will be added to this interface which will display them
to the user.
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add_json_panel(title, config, filename=None, data=None)

Create and add a new SettingsPanel using the configuration config with the JSON definition filename.
Check the Create a panel from JSON section in the documentation for more information about
JSON format and the usage of this function.
add_kivy_panel()
Add a panel for configuring Kivy. This panel acts directly on the kivy configuration. Feel
free to include or exclude it in your configuration.
See use_kivy_settings() for information on enabling/disabling the automatic kivy
panel.
create_json_panel(title, config, filename=None, data=None)
Create new SettingsPanel.
Check the documentation of add_json_panel() for more information.
interface
(internal) Reference to the widget that will contain, organise and display the panel configuration panel widgets.
interface is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
interface_cls
The widget class that will be used to display the graphical interface for the settings panel.
By default, it displays one Settings panel at a time with a sidebar to switch between them.
interface_cls is an ObjectProperty and defaults to InterfaceWithSidebar.
register_type(tp, cls)
Register a new type that can be used in the JSON definition.
class kivy.uix.settings.SettingsPanel(**kwargs)
This class is used to contruct panel settings, for use with a Settings instance or subclass.
config
A kivy.config.ConfigParser instance. See module documentation for more information.
get_value(section, key)
Return the value of the section/key from the config ConfigParser instance. This function
is used by SettingItem to get the value for a given section/key.
If you dont want to use a ConfigParser instance, you might want to override this function.
settings
A Settings instance that will be used to fire the on_config_change event.
title
Title of the panel. The title will be reused by the Settings in the sidebar.
class kivy.uix.settings.SettingItem(**kwargs)
Base class for individual settings (within a panel). This class cannot be used directly; it is used for
implementing the other setting classes. It builds a row with a title/description (left) and a setting
control (right).
Look at SettingBoolean, SettingNumeric and SettingOptions for usage examples.
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Events
on_releaseFired when the item is touched and then released.
content
(internal) Reference to the widget that contains the real setting. As soon as the content object
is set, any further call to add_widget will call the content.add_widget. This is automatically
set.
desc
Description of the setting, rendered on the line below the title.
desc is a StringProperty and defaults to None.
disabled
Indicate if this setting is disabled. If True, all touches on the setting item will be discarded.
disabled is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
key
Key of the token inside the section in the ConfigParser instance.
key is a StringProperty and defaults to None.
panel
(internal) Reference to the SettingsPanel for this setting. You dont need to use it.
panel is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
section
Section of the token inside the ConfigParser instance.
section is a StringProperty and defaults to None.
selected_alpha
(internal) Float value from 0 to 1, used to animate the background when the user touches
the item.
selected_alpha is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
title
Title of the setting, defaults to <No title set>.
title is a StringProperty and defaults to <No title set>.
value
Value of the token according to the ConfigParser instance. Any change to this value will
trigger a Settings.on_config_change() event.
value is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
class kivy.uix.settings.SettingString(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.settings.SettingItem
Implementation of a string setting on top of a SettingItem. It is visualized with a Label widget
that, when clicked, will open a Popup with a Textinput so the user can enter a custom value.
popup
(internal) Used to store the current popup when its shown.
popup is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
textinput
(internal) Used to store the current textinput from the popup and to listen for changes.
textinput is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
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class kivy.uix.settings.SettingPath(**kwargs)
Implementation of a Path setting on top of a SettingItem. It is visualized with a Label widget
that, when clicked, will open a Popup with a FileChooserListView so the user can enter a
custom value.
popup
(internal) Used to store the current popup when it is shown.
textinput
(internal) Used to store the current textinput from the popup and to listen for changes.
textinput is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
class kivy.uix.settings.SettingBoolean(**kwargs)
Implementation of a boolean setting on top of a SettingItem. It is visualized with a Switch
widget. By default, 0 and 1 are used for values: you can change them by setting values.
values
Values used to represent the state of the setting. If you want to use yes and no in your
ConfigParser instance:
SettingBoolean(..., values=['no', 'yes'])
Warning: You need a minimum of two values, the index 0 will be used as False, and
index 1 as True
values is a ListProperty and defaults to [0, 1]
class kivy.uix.settings.SettingNumeric(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.settings.SettingString
Implementation of a numeric setting on top of a SettingString. It is visualized with a Label
widget that, when clicked, will open a Popup with a Textinput so the user can enter a custom
value.
class kivy.uix.settings.SettingOptions(**kwargs)
Implementation of an option list on top of a SettingItem. It is visualized with a Label widget
that, when clicked, will open a Popup with a list of options from which the user can select.
options
List of all availables options. This must be a list of string items. Otherwise, it will crash. :)
options is a ListProperty and defaults to [].
popup
(internal) Used to store the current popup when it is shown.
class kivy.uix.settings.SettingTitle(**kwargs)
A simple title label, used to organize the settings in sections.
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class kivy.uix.settings.SettingsWithSidebar(*args, **kargs)

Bases: kivy.uix.settings.Settings
A settings widget that displays settings panels with a sidebar to switch between them. This is the
default behaviour of Settings, and this widget is a trivial wrapper subclass.
class kivy.uix.settings.SettingsWithSpinner(*args, **kwargs)
A settings widget that displays one settings panel at a time with a spinner at the top to switch
between them.
class kivy.uix.settings.SettingsWithTabbedPanel(*args, **kwargs)
A settings widget that displays settings panels as pages in a TabbedPanel.
class kivy.uix.settings.SettingsWithNoMenu(*args, **kwargs)
A settings widget that displays a single settings panel with no Close button. It will not accept
more than one Settings panel. It is intended for use in programs with few enough settings that a
full panel switcher is not useful.
Warning: This Settings panel does not provide a Close button, and so it is impossible to leave
the settings screen unless you also add other behaviour or override display_settings()
and close_settings().
class kivy.uix.settings.InterfaceWithSidebar(*args, **kwargs)
The default Settings interface class. It displays a sidebar menu with names of available settings
panels, which may be used to switch which one is currently displayed.
See add_panel() for information on the method you must implement if creating your own
interface.
This class also dispatches an event on_close, which is triggered when the sidebar menus close
button is released. If creating your own interface widget, it should also dispatch such an event
which will automatically be caught by Settings and used to trigger its own on_close event.
add_panel(panel, name, uid)
This method is used by Settings to add new panels for possible display. Any replacement
for ContentPanel must implement this method.
Parameters
panel A SettingsPanel. It should be stored and the interface
should provide a way to switch between panels.
name The name of the panel as a string. It may be used to represent
the panel but isnt necessarily unique.
uid A unique int identifying the panel. It should be used to identify
and switch between panels.
content
(internal) A reference to the panel display widget (a ContentPanel).
menu
(internal) A reference to the sidebar menu widget.
menu is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
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class kivy.uix.settings.ContentPanel(**kwargs)
A class for displaying settings panels. It displays a single settings panel at a time, taking
up the full size and shape of the ContentPanel. It is used by InterfaceWithSidebar and
InterfaceWithSpinner to display settings.
add_panel(panel, name, uid)
This method is used by Settings to add new panels for possible display. Any replacement
for ContentPanel must implement this method.
Parameters
panel A SettingsPanel. It should be stored and displayed
when requested.
name The name of the panel as a string. It may be used to represent
the panel.
uid A unique int identifying the panel. It should be stored and
used to identify panels when switching.
container
(internal) A reference to the GridLayout that contains the settings panel.
container is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
current_panel
(internal) A reference to the current settings panel.
current_panel is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
current_uid
(internal) A reference to the uid of the current settings panel.
current_uid is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
on_current_uid(*args)
The uid of the currently displayed panel. Changing this will automatically change the displayed panel.
Parametersuid A panel uid. It should be used to retrieve and display a settings
panel that has previously been added with add_panel().
panels
(internal) Stores a dictionary mapping settings panels to their uids.
panels is a DictProperty and defaults to {}.
34.35 Slider
The Slider widget looks like a scrollbar. It supports horizontal and vertical orientations, min/max
values and a default value.
To create a slider from -100 to 100 starting from 25:
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from kivy.uix.slider import Slider

s = Slider(min=-100, max=100, value=25)
To create a vertical slider:

s = Slider(orientation='vertical')
class kivy.uix.slider.Slider(**kwargs)
Class for creating a Slider widget.
Check module documentation for more details.
max
Maximum value allowed for value.
min
Minimum value allowed for value.
min is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
orientation
Orientation of the slider.
orientation is an OptionProperty and defaults to horizontal. Can take a value of
padding
Padding of the slider. The padding is used for graphical representation and interaction. It
prevents the cursor from going out of the bounds of the slider bounding box.
By default, padding is sp(16). The range of the slider is reduced from padding *2 on the
screen. It allows drawing the default cursor of sp(32) width without having the cursor go
out of the widget.
padding is a NumericProperty and defaults to sp(16).
range
Range of the slider in the format (minimum value, maximum value):
>>> slider = Slider(min=10, max=80)
>>> slider.range
[10, 80]
>>> slider.range = (20, 100)
>>> slider.min
20
>>> slider.max
100
range is a ReferenceListProperty of (min, max) properties.

step
Step size of the slider.
Determines the size of each interval or step the slider takes between min and max. If the
value range cant be evenly divisible by step the last step will be capped by slider.max
step is a NumericProperty and defaults to 1.
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value
Current value used for the slider.
value is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
value_normalized
Normalized value inside the range (min/max) to 0-1 range:
>>>
>>>
50
>>>
0.5
>>>
>>>
0
>>>
>>>
1
slider = Slider(value=50, min=0, max=100)

slider.value
slider.value_normalized
slider.value = 0
slider.value = 100
You can also use it for setting the real value without knowing the minimum and maximum:
>>>
>>>
>>>
100
>>>
>>>
200
slider = Slider(min=0, max=200)

slider.value_normalized = .5
slider.value
slider.value_normalized = 1.
slider.value
value_normalized is an AliasProperty.
value_pos
Position of the internal cursor, based on the normalized value.
value_pos is an AliasProperty.
34.36 Spinner
537
Spinner is a widget that provides a quick way to select one value from a set. In the default state, a
spinner shows its currently selected value. Touching the spinner displays a dropdown menu with all
the other available values from which the user can select a new one.
Example:
from kivy.uix.spinner import Spinner
spinner = Spinner(
# default value shown
text='Home',
# available values
values=('Home', 'Work', 'Other', 'Custom'),
# just for positioning in our example
size_hint=(None, None),
size=(100, 44),
pos_hint={'center_x': .5, 'center_y': .5})
def show_selected_value(spinner, text):
print('The spinner', spinner, 'have text', text)
spinner.bind(text=show_selected_value)
runTouchApp(spinner)
class kivy.uix.spinner.Spinner(**kwargs)
Spinner class, see module documentation for more information.
dropdown_cls
Class used to display the dropdown list when the Spinner is pressed.
dropdown_cls is an ObjectProperty and defaults to DropDown.
is_open
By default, the spinner is not open. Set to True to open it.
is_open is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
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option_cls
Class used to display the options within the dropdown list displayed under the Spinner.
The text property of the class will be used to represent the value.
The option class requires:
a text property, used to display the value.
an on_release event, used to trigger the option when pressed/touched.
a size_hint_y of None.
the height to be set.
option_cls is an ObjectProperty and defaults to SpinnerOption.
values
Values that can be selected by the user. It must be a list of strings.
values is a ListProperty and defaults to [].
class kivy.uix.spinner.SpinnerOption(**kwargs)
Special button used in the Spinner dropdown list. By default, this is just a Button with a
size_hint_y of None and a height of 48dp.
34.37 Splitter
The Splitter is a widget that helps you re-size its child widget/layout by letting you re-size it via
dragging the boundary or double tapping the boundary. This widget is similar to the ScrollView in
that it allows only one child widget.
Usage:
splitter = Splitter(sizable_from = 'right')
splitter.add_widget(layout_or_widget_instance)
splitter.min_size = 100
splitter.max_size = 250
To change the size of the strip/border used for resizing:
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splitter.strip_size = '10pt'
To change its appearance:

splitter.strip_cls = your_custom_class
You can also change the appearance of the strip_cls, which defaults to SplitterStrip, by overriding
the kv rule in your app:
<SplitterStrip>:
horizontal: True if self.parent and self.parent.sizable_from[0] in ('t', 'b') else False
background_normal: 'path to normal horizontal image' if self.horizontal else 'path to vertica
background_down: 'path to pressed horizontal image' if self.horizontal else 'path to vertical
class kivy.uix.splitter.Splitter(**kwargs)
See module documentation.
Events
on_press:Fired when the splitter is pressed.
on_release:Fired when the splitter is released.
Changed in version 1.6.0: Added on_press and on_release events.
border
Border used for the BorderImage graphics instruction.
This must be a list of four values: (top, right, bottom, left). Read the BorderImage instructions for more information about how to use it.
keep_within_parent
If True, will limit the splitter to stay within its parent widget.
keep_within_parent is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
max_size
Specifies the maximum size beyond which the widget is not resizable.
max_size is a NumericProperty and defaults to 500pt.
min_size
Specifies the minimum size beyond which the widget is not resizable.
min_size is a NumericProperty and defaults to 100pt.
rescale_with_parent
If True, will automatically change size to take up the same proportion of the parent widget when it is resized, while staying within min_size and max_size. As long as these
attributes can be satisfied, this stops the Splitter from exceeding the parent size during
rescaling.
rescale_with_parent is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
sizable_from
Specifies whether the widget is resizable. Options are::left, right, top or bottom
sizable_from is an OptionProperty and defaults to left.
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strip_cls
Specifies the class of the resize Strip.
strip_cls is an kivy.properties.ObjectProperty
SplitterStrip, which is of type Button.
and
defaults
to
strip_size
Specifies the size of resize strip
strp_size is a NumericProperty defaults to 10pt
34.38 Stack Layout

The StackLayout arranges children vertically or horizontally, as many as the layout can fit. The size
of the individual children widgets do not have to be uniform.
For example, to display widgets that get progressively larger in width:
root = StackLayout()
for i in range(25):
btn = Button(text=str(i), width=40 + i * 5, size_hint=(None, 0.15))
root.add_widget(btn)
541
class kivy.uix.stacklayout.StackLayout(**kwargs)
Stack layout class. See module documentation for more information.
minimum_height
Minimum height needed to contain all children. It is automatically set by the layout.
minimum_height is a kivy.properties.NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
minimum_size
Minimum size needed to contain all children. It is automatically set by the layout.
properties.
minimum_width
Minimum width needed to contain all children. It is automatically set by the layout.
minimum_width is a kivy.properties.NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
orientation
orientation is an OptionProperty and defaults to lr-tb.
Valid orientations are lr-tb, tb-lr, rl-tb, tb-rl, lr-bt, bt-lr, rl-bt and bt-rl.
Changed in version 1.5.0: orientation now correctly handles all valid combinations of
lr,rl,tb,bt. Before this version only lr-tb and tb-lr were supported, and tb-lr was
misnamed and placed widgets from bottom to top and from right to left (reversed compared
to what was expected).
Note: lr means Left to Right. rl means Right to Left. tb means Top to Bottom. bt means
Bottom to Top.
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padding
Padding between the layout box and its children:
[padding_left, padding_top,

single argument form [padding].
Changed in version 1.7.0: Replaced the NumericProperty with a VariableListProperty.
spacing
Spacing between children: [spacing_horizontal, spacing_vertical].
spacing also accepts a single argument form [spacing].
spacing is a VariableListProperty and defaults to [0, 0].
34.39 Stencil View

StencilView limits the drawing of child widgets to the StencilViews bounding box. Any drawing
outside the bounding box will be clipped (trashed).
The StencilView uses the stencil graphics instructions under the hood. It provides an efficient way to
clip the drawing area of children.
Note: As with the stencil graphics instructions, you cannot stack more than 128 stencil-aware widgets.
Note: StencilView is not a layout. Consequently, you have to manage the size and position of its
children directly. You can combine (subclass both) a StencilView and a Layout in order to achieve a
layouts behavior. For example:
class BoxStencil(BoxLayout, StencilView):
pass
class kivy.uix.stencilview.StencilView(**kwargs)
StencilView class. See module documentation for more information.
34.40 Switch
543
The Switch widget is active or inactive, like a mechanical light switch. The user can swipe to the
left/right to activate/deactivate it:
switch = Switch(active=True)
To attach a callback that listens to the activation state:

print('the switch', instance, 'is', value)
switch = Switch()
switch.bind(active=callback)
By default, the representation of the widget is static. The minimum size required is 83x32 pixels (defined
by the background image). The image is centered within the widget.
The entire widget is active, not just the part with graphics. As long as you swipe over the widgets
bounding box, it will work.
Note: If you want to control the state with a single touch instead of a swipe, use the ToggleButton
instead.
class kivy.uix.switch.Switch(**kwargs)
Switch class. See module documentation for more information.
active
Indicate whether the switch is active or inactive.
active is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
active_norm_pos
(internal) Contains the normalized position of the movable element inside the switch, in the
0-1 range.
active_norm_pos is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
touch_control
(internal) Contains the touch that currently interacts with the switch.
touch_control is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
touch_distance
(internal) Contains the distance between the initial position of the touch and the current
position to determine if the swipe is from the left or right.
touch_distance is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
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34.41 TabbedPanel

The TabbedPanel widget manages different widgets in tabs, with a header area for the actual tab buttons
and a content area for showing the current tab content.
The TabbedPanel provides one default tab.

'''
TabbedPanel
============
Test of the widget TabbedPanel.
'''
from
from
from
from
kivy.app import App

kivy.uix.tabbedpanel import TabbedPanel
<Test>:
size_hint: .5, .5
do_default_tab: False
TabbedPanelItem:
text: 'first tab'
Label:
text: 'First tab content area'
TabbedPanelItem:
text: 'tab2'
BoxLayout:
Label:
text: 'Second tab content area'
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Button:
text: 'Button that does nothing'
TabbedPanelItem:
text: 'tab3'
RstDocument:
text:
'\\n'.join(("Hello world", "-----------",
"You are in the third tab."))
""")
class Test(TabbedPanel):
pass
class TabbedPanelApp(App):
def build(self):
return Test()
if __name__ == '__main__':
TabbedPanelApp().run()
Note: A new class TabbedPanelItem has been introduced in 1.5.0 for convenience. So now one can
simply add a TabbedPanelItem to a TabbedPanel and content to the TabbedPanelItem as in the
example provided above.
34.41.2 Customize the Tabbed Panel

You can choose the position in which the tabs are displayed:
tab_pos = 'top_mid'
An individual tab is called a TabbedPanelHeader. It is a special button containing a content property.

You add the TabbedPanelHeader first, and set its content property separately:
tp = TabbedPanel()
th = TabbedPanelHeader(text='Tab2')
tp.add_widget(th)
An individual tab, represented by a TabbedPanelHeader, needs its content set. This content can be any
widget. It could be a layout with a deep hierarchy of widgets, or it could be an individual widget, such
as a label or a button:
th.content = your_content_instance
There is one shared main content area active at any given time, for all the tabs. Your app is responsible
for adding the content of individual tabs and for managing them, but its not responsible for content
switching. The tabbed panel handles switching of the main content object as per user action.
There is a default tab added when the tabbed panel is instantiated. Tabs that you add individually as
above, are added in addition to the default tab. Thus, depending on your needs and design, you will
want to customize the default tab:
tp.default_tab_text = 'Something Specific To Your Use'
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The default tab machinery requires special consideration and management.

on_default_tab event is provided for associating a callback:
Accordingly, an
tp.bind(default_tab = my_default_tab_callback)
Its important to note that by default, default_tab_cls is of type TabbedPanelHeader and thus
has the same properties as other tabs.
Since 1.5.0, it is now possible to disable the creation of the default_tab by setting do_default_tab
to False.
Tabs and content can be removed in several ways:
tp.remove_widget(widget/tabbed_panel_header)
or
tp.clear_widgets() # to clear all the widgets in the content area
or
tp.clear_tabs() # to remove the TabbedPanelHeaders
To access the children of the tabbed panel, use content.children:

tp.content.children
To access the list of tabs:

tp.tab_list
To change the appearance of the main tabbed panel content:

background_color = (1, 0, 0, .5) #50% translucent red
border = [0, 0, 0, 0]
background_image = 'path/to/background/image'
To change the background of a individual tab, use these two properties:

tab_header_instance.background_normal = 'path/to/tab_head/img'
tab_header_instance.background_down = 'path/to/tab_head/img_pressed'
A TabbedPanelStrip contains the individual tab headers. To change the appearance of this tab strip,
override the canvas of TabbedPanelStrip. For example, in the kv language:
<TabbedPanelStrip>
canvas:
Color:
rgba: (0, 1, 0, 1) # green
Rectangle:
size: self.size
pos: self.pos
By default the tabbed panel strip takes its background image and color from the tabbed panels background_image and background_color.
class kivy.uix.tabbedpanel.StripLayout(**kwargs)
The main layout that is used to house the entire tabbedpanel strip including the blank areas in
case the tabs dont cover the entire width/height.
547
background_image
Background image to be used for the Strip layout of the TabbedPanel.
background_image is a StringProperty anddefaults to a transparent image.
border
Border property for the background_image.
border is a ListProperty and defaults to [4, 4, 4, 4]
class kivy.uix.tabbedpanel.TabbedPanel(**kwargs)
The TabbedPanel class. See module documentation for more information.
background_color
background_disabled_image
Background image of the main shared content object when disabled.
background_disabled_image is a
las://data/images/defaulttheme/tab.
StringProperty
and
defaults
to
at-
background_image
Background image of the main shared content object.
background_image
is
a
StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/tab.
and
defaults
to
at-
border
Border used for BorderImage graphics instruction, used itself for background_image.
Can be changed for a custom background.
It must be a list of four values: (top, right, bottom, left). Read the BorderImage instructions
content
This is the object holding (current_tabs content is added to this) the content of the current
tab. To Listen to the changes in the content of the current tab, you should bind to current_tabs content property.
current_tab
Links to the currently selected or active tab.
current_tab is an AliasProperty, read-only.
default_tab
Holds the default tab.
Note: For convenience, the automatically provided default tab is deleted when you change
default_tab to something else. As of 1.5.0, this behaviour has been extended to every default_tab for consistency and not just the automatically provided one.
default_tab is an AliasProperty.
548
default_tab_cls
Specifies the class to use for the styling of the default tab.
Warning: default_tab_cls should be subclassed from TabbedPanelHeader
default_tab_cls is an ObjectProperty and defaults to TabbedPanelHeader. If you set a
string, the Factory will be used to resolve the class.
Changed in version 1.8.0: The Factory will resolve the class if a string is set.
default_tab_content
Holds the default tab content.
default_tab_content is an AliasProperty.
default_tab_text
Specifies the text displayed on the default tab header.
default_tab_text is a StringProperty and defaults to default tab.
do_default_tab
Specifies whether a default_tab head is provided.
do_default_tab is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True.
strip_border
Border to be used on strip_image.
strip_border is a ListProperty and defaults to [4, 4, 4, 4].
strip_image
Background image of the tabbed strip.
strip_image is a StringProperty and defaults to a empty image.
switch_to(header)
Switch to a specific panel header.
tab_height
Specifies the height of the tab header.
tab_height is a NumericProperty and defaults to 40.
tab_list
List of all the tab headers.
tab_list is an AliasProperty and is read-only.
tab_pos
Specifies the position of the tabs relative to the content. Can be one of: left_top, left_mid,
left_bottom, top_left, top_mid, top_right, right_top, right_mid, right_bottom, bottom_left, bottom_mid, bottom_right.
tab_pos is an OptionProperty and defaults to top_left.
tab_width
Specifies the width of the tab header.
tab_width is a NumericProperty and defaults to 100.
549
class kivy.uix.tabbedpanel.TabbedPanelContent(**kwargs)
The TabbedPanelContent class.
class kivy.uix.tabbedpanel.TabbedPanelHeader(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.togglebutton.ToggleButton
A Base for implementing a Tabbed Panel Head. A button intended to be used as a Heading/Tab
for a TabbedPanel widget.
You can use this TabbedPanelHeader widget to add a new tab to a TabbedPanel.
content
Content to be loaded when this tab header is selected.
class kivy.uix.tabbedpanel.TabbedPanelItem(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.tabbedpanel.TabbedPanelHeader
This is a convenience class that provides a header of type TabbedPanelHeader and links it with
the content automatically. Thus facilitating you to simply do the following in kv language:
<TabbedPanel>:
...other settings
TabbedPanelItem:
BoxLayout:
Label:
text: 'Second tab content area'
Button:
text: 'Button that does nothing'

class kivy.uix.tabbedpanel.TabbedPanelStrip(**kwargs)
A strip intended to be used as background for Heading/Tab. This does not cover the blank areas
in case the tabs dont cover the entire width/height of the TabbedPanel(use StripLayout for that).
tabbed_panel
Link to the panel that the tab strip is a part of.
tabbed_panel is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None .
exception kivy.uix.tabbedpanel.TabbedPanelException
Bases: Exception
The TabbedPanelException class.
34.42 Text Input

550
The TextInput widget provides a box for editable plain text.

Unicode, multiline, cursor navigation, selection and clipboard features are supported.
The TextInput uses two different coordinate systems:
(x, y) - coordinates in pixels, mostly used for rendering on screen.
(row, col) - cursor index in characters / lines, used for selection and cursor movement.

To create a multiline TextInput (the enter key adds a new line):
from kivy.uix.textinput import TextInput
textinput = TextInput(text='Hello world')
To create a singleline TextInput, set the TextInput.multiline property to False (the enter key
will defocus the TextInput and emit an on_text_validate event):
def on_enter(instance, value):
print('User pressed enter in', instance)
textinput = TextInput(text='Hello world', multiline=False)
textinput.bind(on_text_validate=on_enter)
The textinputs text is stored in its TextInput.text property. To run a callback when the text changes:
def on_text(instance, value):
print('The widget', instance, 'have:', value)
textinput = TextInput()
textinput.bind(text=on_text)
You can set the focus to a Textinput, meaning that the input box will be highlighted and keyboard
focus will be requested:
textinput = TextInput(focus=True)
The textinput is defocused if the escape key is pressed, or if another widget requests the keyboard.
You can bind a callback to the focus property to get notified of focus changes:
def on_focus(instance, value):
if value:
print('User focused', instance)
else:
print('User defocused', instance)
551
textinput = TextInput()
textinput.bind(focus=on_focus)
See FocusBehavior, from which the TextInput inherits, for more details.
34.42.2 Selection
The selection is automatically updated when the cursor position changes. You can get the currently
selected text from the TextInput.selection_text property.
34.42.3 Filtering
You can control which text can be added to the TextInput by overwriting
TextInput.insert_text(). Every string that is typed, pasted or inserted by any other means into
the TextInput is passed through this function. By overwriting it you can reject or change unwanted
characters.
For example, to write only in capitalized characters:
class CapitalInput(TextInput):
def insert_text(self, substring, from_undo=False):
s = substring.upper()
return super(CapitalInput, self).insert_text(s, from_undo=from_undo)
Or to only allow floats (0 - 9 and a single period):

class FloatInput(TextInput):
pat = re.compile('[^0-9]')
def insert_text(self, substring, from_undo=False):
pat = self.pat
if '.' in self.text:
s = re.sub(pat, '', substring)
else:
s = '.'.join([re.sub(pat, '', s) for s in substring.split('.', 1)])
return super(FloatInput, self).insert_text(s, from_undo=from_undo)
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34.42.4 Default shortcuts

Shortcuts
Left
Right
Up
Down
Home
End
PageUp
PageDown
Backspace
Del
Shift + <dir>
Control + c
Control + x
Control + p
Control + a
Control + z
Control + r
Description
Move cursor to left
Move cursor to right
Move cursor to up
Move cursor to down
Move cursor at the beginning of the line
Move cursor at the end of the line
Move cursor to 3 lines before
Move cursor to 3 lines after
Delete the selection or character before the cursor
Delete the selection of character after the cursor
Start a text selection. Dir can be Up, Down, Left or Right
Copy selection
Cut selection
Paste selection
Select all the content
undo
redo
Note: To enable Emacs-style keyboard shortcuts, you can use EmacsBehavior.

class kivy.uix.textinput.TextInput(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.behaviors.focus.FocusBehavior, kivy.uix.widget.Widget
TextInput class. See module documentation for more information.
Events
on_text_validateFired only in multiline=False mode when the user hits enter.
This will also unfocus the textinput.
on_double_tapFired when a double tap happens in the text input. The default behavior selects the text around the cursor position. More info at
on_double_tap().
on_triple_tapFired when a triple tap happens in the text input. The default behavior selects the line around the cursor position. More info at
on_triple_tap().
on_quad_touchFired when four fingers are touching the text input. The default
behavior selects the whole text. More info at on_quad_touch().
Warning: When changing a TextInput property that requires re-drawing, e.g. modifying
the text, the updates occur on the next clock cycle and not instantly. This might cause any
changes to the TextInput that occur between the modification and the next cycle to be ignored, or to use previous values. For example, after a update to the text, changing the cursor
in the same clock frame will move it using the previous text and will likely end up in an incorrect position. The solution is to schedule any updates to occur on the next clock cycle using
schedule_once().
Note: Selection is cancelled when TextInput is focused. If you need to show selection when
TextInput is focused, you should delay (use Clock.schedule) the call to the functions for selecting
text (select_all, select_text).
Changed in version 1.9.0: TextInput now inherits from FocusBehavior. keyboard_mode,
show_keyboard(), hide_keyboard(), focus(), and input_type have been removed since
they are now inherited from FocusBehavior.
Changed in version 1.7.0: on_double_tap, on_triple_tap and on_quad_touch events added.
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allow_copy
Decides whether to allow copying the text.
allow_copy is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True.
auto_indent
Automatically indent multiline text.
auto_indent is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
background_active
Background image of the TextInput when its in focus.
background_active
is
a
StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/textinput_active.
and
defaults
to
at-
background_color
Current color of the background, in (r, g, b, a) format.
background_color is a ListProperty and defaults to [1, 1, 1, 1] (white).
background_disabled_active
Background image of the TextInput when its in focus and disabled.
background_disabled_active is a StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/textinput_disabled_active.
and
defaults
to
at-
and
defaults
to
at-
Background image of the TextInput when disabled.
background_disabled_normal is a StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/textinput_disabled.
background_normal
Background image of the TextInput when its not in focus.
background_normal
is
a
StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/textinput.
and
defaults
to
at-
border
Border used for BorderImage graphics instruction. Used with background_normal and
background_active. Can be used for a custom background.
It must be a list of four values: (top, right, bottom, left). Read the BorderImage instruction
cancel_selection()
Cancel current selection (if any).
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copy(data=)
Copy the value provided in argument data into current clipboard. If data is not of type
string it will be converted to string. If no data is provided then current selection if present is
copied.
cursor
Tuple of (row, col) values indicating the current cursor position. You can set a new (row, col)
if you want to move the cursor. The scrolling area will be automatically updated to ensure
that the cursor is visible inside the viewport.
cursor is an AliasProperty.
cursor_blink
This property is used to blink the cursor graphic. The value of cursor_blink is automatically computed. Setting a value on it will have no impact.
cursor_blink is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
cursor_col
Current column of the cursor.
cursor_col is an AliasProperty to cursor[0], read-only.
cursor_color
Current color of the cursor, in (r, g, b, a) format.
cursor_color is a ListProperty and defaults to [1, 0, 0, 1].
cursor_index(cursor=None)
Return the cursor index in the text/value.
cursor_offset()
Get the cursor x offset on the current line.
cursor_pos
Current position of the cursor, in (x, y).
cursor_pos is an AliasProperty, read-only.
cursor_row
Current row of the cursor.
cursor_row is an AliasProperty to cursor[1], read-only.
cut()
Copy current selection to clipboard then delete it from TextInput.
delete_selection(from_undo=False)
Delete the current text selection (if any).
disabled_foreground_color
Current color of the foreground when disabled, in (r, g, b, a) format.
disabled_foreground_color is a ListProperty and defaults to [0, 0, 0, 5] (50% transparent black).
do_backspace(from_undo=False, mode=bkspc)
Do backspace operation from the current cursor position. This action might do several
things:
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removing the current selection if available.

removing the previous char and move the cursor back.
do nothing, if we are at the start.
do_cursor_movement(action, control=False, alt=False)
Move the cursor relative to its current position. Action can be one of :
cursor_left: move the cursor to the left
cursor_right: move the cursor to the right
cursor_up: move the cursor on the previous line
cursor_down: move the cursor on the next line
cursor_home: move the cursor at the start of the current line
cursor_end: move the cursor at the end of current line
cursor_pgup: move one page before
cursor_pgdown: move one page after
In addition, the behavior of certain actions can be modified:
control + cursor_left: move the cursor one word to the left
control + cursor_right: move the cursor one word to the right
control + cursor_up: scroll up one line
control + cursor_down: scroll down one line
control + cursor_home: go to beginning of text
control + cursor_end: go to end of text
alt + cursor_up: shift line(s) up
alt + cursor_down: shift line(s) down
do_redo()
Do redo operation.
This action re-does any command that has been un-done by do_undo/ctrl+z. This function
is automatically called when ctrl+r keys are pressed.
do_undo()
Do undo operation.
This action un-does any edits that have been made since the last call to reset_undo(). This
function is automatically called when ctrl+z keys are pressed.
font_name
Filename of the font to use. The path can be absolute or relative. Relative paths are resolved
by the resource_find() function.
Warning: Depending on your text provider, the font file may be ignored. However, you
can mostly use this without problems.
If the font used lacks the glyphs for the particular language/symbols you are using, you
will see [] blank box characters instead of the actual glyphs. The solution is to use a
font that has the glyphs you need to display. For example, to display
freesans.ttf that has the glyph.
font_name is a StringProperty and defaults to Roboto.
font_size
Font size of the text in pixels.
font_size is a NumericProperty and defaults to 10.
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, use a font like
foreground_color
Current color of the foreground, in (r, g, b, a) format.
foreground_color is a ListProperty and defaults to [0, 0, 0, 1] (black).
get_cursor_from_index(index)
Return the (row, col) of the cursor from text index.
get_cursor_from_xy(x, y)
Return the (row, col) of the cursor from an (x, y) position.
handle_image_left
Image used to display the Left handle on the TextInput for selection.
handle_image_left
is
a
StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/selector_left.
and
defaults
to
at-
defaults
to
at-
defaults
to
at-
handle_image_middle
Image used to display the middle handle on the TextInput for cursor positioning.
handle_image_middle
is
a
StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/selector_middle.
and
handle_image_right
Image used to display the Right handle on the TextInput for selection.
handle_image_right
is
a
StringProperty
las://data/images/defaulttheme/selector_right.
and
hint_text
Hint text of the widget.
Shown if text is and focus is False.
hint_text a StringProperty and defaults to .
hint_text_color
Current color of the hint_text text, in (r, g, b, a) format.
hint_text_color is a ListProperty and defaults to [0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 1.0] (grey).
input_filter
Filters the input according to the specified mode, if not None. If None, no filtering is applied.
input_filter is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None. Can be one of None, int
(string), or float (string), or a callable. If it is int, it will only accept numbers. If it is float it
will also accept a single period. Finally, if it is a callable it will be called with two parameter;
the string to be added and a bool indicating whether the string is a result of undo (True).
The callable should return a new substring that will be used instead.
insert_text(substring, from_undo=False)
Insert new text at the current cursor position. Override this function in order to pre-process
text for input validation.
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keyboard_suggestions
If True provides auto suggestions on top of keyboard. This will only work if input_type
is set to text.
keyboard_suggestions is a BooleanProperty defaults to True.
line_height
Height of a line. This property is automatically computed from the font_name,
font_size. Changing the line_height will have no impact.
Note: line_height is the height of a single line of text. Use minimum_height, which
also includes padding, to get the height required to display the text properly.
line_height is a NumericProperty, read-only.
line_spacing
Space taken up between the lines.
line_spacing is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
minimum_height
Minimum height of the content inside the TextInput.
minimum_height is a readonly AliasProperty.
Warning: minimum_width is calculated based on width therefore code like this will
lead to an infinite loop:
<FancyTextInput>:
height: self.minimum_height
width: self.height
multiline
If True, the widget will be able show multiple lines of text. If False, the enter keypress will
defocus the textinput instead of adding a new line.
multiline is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True.
on_double_tap()
This event is dispatched when a double tap happens inside TextInput. The default behavior
is to select the word around the current cursor position. Override this to provide different
behavior. Alternatively, you can bind to this event to provide additional functionality.
on_quad_touch()
This event is dispatched when four fingers are touching inside TextInput. The default behavior is to select all text. Override this to provide different behavior. Alternatively, you can
bind to this event to provide additional functionality.
on_triple_tap()
This event is dispatched when a triple tap happens inside TextInput. The default behavior is
to select the line around current cursor position. Override this to provide different behavior.
Alternatively, you can bind to this event to provide additional functionality.
padding
Padding of the text: [padding_left, padding_top, padding_right, padding_bottom].
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Changed in version 1.7.0: Replaced AliasProperty with VariableListProperty.
padding_x
Horizontal padding of the text: [padding_left, padding_right].
padding_x also accepts a one argument form [padding_horizontal].
padding_x is a VariableListProperty and defaults to [0, 0]. This might be changed
by the current theme.
Deprecated since version 1.7.0: Use padding instead.
padding_y
Vertical padding of the text: [padding_top, padding_bottom].
padding_y also accepts a one argument form [padding_vertical].
padding_y is a VariableListProperty and defaults to [0, 0]. This might be changed
by the current theme.
Deprecated since version 1.7.0: Use padding instead.
password
If True, the widget will display its characters as the character *.
password is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
paste()
Insert text from system Clipboard into the TextInput at current cursor position.
readonly
If True, the user will not be able to change the content of a textinput.
readonly is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
replace_crlf
Automatically replace CRLF with LF.
replace_crlf is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True.
reset_undo()
Reset undo and redo lists from memory.
scroll_x
X scrolling value of the viewport. The scrolling is automatically updated when the cursor is
moved or text changed. If there is no user input, the scroll_x and scroll_y properties may be
changed.
scroll_x is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
scroll_y
Y scrolling value of the viewport. See scroll_x for more information.
scroll_y is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
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select_all()
Select all of the text displayed in this TextInput.
select_text(start, end)
Select a portion of text displayed in this TextInput.
Parameters
startIndex of textinput.text from where to start selection
endIndex of textinput.text till which the selection should be displayed
selection_color
Current color of the selection, in (r, g, b, a) format.
Warning: The color should always have an alpha component less than 1 since the
selection is drawn after the text.
selection_color is a ListProperty and defaults to [0.1843, 0.6549, 0.8313, .5].
selection_from
If a selection is in progress or complete, this property will represent the cursor index where
the selection started.
Changed in version 1.4.0: selection_from is an AliasProperty and defaults to None,
readonly.
selection_text
Current content selection.
selection_text is a StringProperty and defaults to , readonly.
selection_to
If a selection is in progress or complete, this property will represent the cursor index where
the selection started.
Changed in version 1.4.0: selection_to is an AliasProperty and defaults to None,
readonly.
suggestion_text
Shows a suggestion text/word from currentcursor position onwards, that can be used as a
possible completion. Usefull for suggesting completion text. This can also be used by the
IME to setup the current word being edited
suggestion_text is a StringProperty defaults to
tab_width
By default, each tab will be replaced by four spaces on the text input widget. You can set a
lower or higher value.
tab_width is a NumericProperty and defaults to 4.
text
Text of the widget.
Creation of a simple hello world:
widget = TextInput(text='Hello world')
If you want to create the widget with an unicode string, use:
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widget = TextInput(text=u'My unicode string')
text is an AliasProperty.
use_bubble
Indicates whether the cut/copy/paste bubble is used.
use_bubble is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True on mobile OSs, False on desktop
OSs.
use_handles
Indicates whether the selection handles are displayed.
use_handles is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True on mobile OSs, False on desktop OSs.
write_tab
Whether the tab key should move focus to the next widget or if it should enter a tab in the
TextInput. If True a tab will be written, otherwise, focus will move to the next widget.
write_tab is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True.
34.43 Toggle button

The ToggleButton widget acts like a checkbox. When you touch/click it, the state toggles between
normal and down (as opposed to a Button that is only down as long as it is pressed).
Toggle buttons can also be grouped to make radio buttons - only one button in a group can be in a
down state. The group name can be a string or any other hashable Python object:
btn1 = ToggleButton(text='Male', group='sex',)
btn2 = ToggleButton(text='Female', group='sex', state='down')
btn3 = ToggleButton(text='Mixed', group='sex')
Only one of the buttons can be down/checked at the same time.

To configure the ToggleButton, you can use the same properties that you can use for a Button class.
class kivy.uix.togglebutton.ToggleButton(**kwargs)
Bases:
kivy.uix.behaviors.togglebutton.ToggleButtonBehavior,
kivy.uix.button.Button
Toggle button class, see module documentation for more information.
34.44 Tree View

TreeView is a widget used to represent a tree structure. It is currently very basic, supporting a minimal
feature set.
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34.44.1 Introduction
A TreeView is populated with TreeViewNode instances, but you cannot use a TreeViewNode directly. You must combine it with another widget, such as Label, Button or even your own widget.
The TreeView always creates a default root node, based on TreeViewLabel.
TreeViewNode is a class object containing needed properties for serving as a tree node. Extend
TreeViewNode to create custom node types for use with a TreeView.
For constructing your own subclass, follow the pattern of TreeViewLabel which combines a Label and
a TreeViewNode, producing a TreeViewLabel for direct use in a TreeView instance.
To use the TreeViewLabel class, you could create two nodes directly attached to root:
tv = TreeView()
tv.add_node(TreeViewLabel(text='My first item'))
tv.add_node(TreeViewLabel(text='My second item'))
Or, create two nodes attached to a first:

tv = TreeView()
n1 = tv.add_node(TreeViewLabel(text='Item 1'))
tv.add_node(TreeViewLabel(text='SubItem 1'), n1)
tv.add_node(TreeViewLabel(text='SubItem 2'), n1)
If you have a large tree structure, perhaps you would need a utility function to populate the tree view:
def populate_tree_view(tree_view, parent, node):
if parent is None:
tree_node = tree_view.add_node(TreeViewLabel(text=node['node_id'],
is_open=True))
else:
tree_node = tree_view.add_node(TreeViewLabel(text=node['node_id'],
is_open=True), parent)
for child_node in node['children']:
populate_tree_view(tree_view, tree_node, child_node)
tree = {'node_id': '1',

'children': [{'node_id': '1.1',
'children': [{'node_id': '1.1.1',
'children': [{'node_id': '1.1.1.1',
'children': []}]},
{'node_id': '1.1.2',
'children': []},
{'node_id': '1.1.3',
'children': []}]},
{'node_id': '1.2',
'children': []}]}
class TreeWidget(FloatLayout):
super(TreeWidget, self).__init__(**kwargs)
tv = TreeView(root_options=dict(text='Tree One'),
hide_root=False,
indent_level=4)
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populate_tree_view(tv, None, tree)

self.add_widget(tv)
The root widget in the tree view is opened by default and has text set as Root. If you want to change
that, you can use the TreeView.root_options property. This will pass options to the root widget:
tv = TreeView(root_options=dict(text='My root label'))
34.44.2 Creating Your Own Node Widget

For a button node type, combine a Button and a TreeViewNode as follows:
class TreeViewButton(Button, TreeViewNode):
pass
You must know that, for a given node, only the size_hint_x will be honored. The allocated width
for the node will depend of the current width of the TreeView and the level of the node. For example, if
a node is at level 4, the width allocated will be:
treeview.width - treeview.indent_start - treeview.indent_level * node.level
You might have some trouble with that. It is the developers responsibility to correctly handle adapting
the graphical representation nodes, if needed.
class kivy.uix.treeview.TreeView(**kwargs)
TreeView class. See module documentation for more information.
Events
on_node_expand: (node, )Fired when a node is being expanded
on_node_collapse: (node, )Fired when a node is being collapsed
add_node(node, parent=None)
Add a new node to the tree.
Parameters
node: instance of a TreeViewNodeNode to add into the tree
parent: instance of a TreeViewNode, defaults to NoneParent node to attach the new node. If None, it is added to the root node.
Returnsthe node node.
get_node_at_pos(pos)
Get the node at the position (x, y).
hide_root
Use this property to show/hide the initial root node. If True, the root node will be appear as
a closed node.
hide_root is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
indent_level
Width used for the indentation of each level except the first level.
Computation of indent for each level of the tree is:
indent = indent_start + level * indent_level
indent_level is a NumericProperty and defaults to 16.
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indent_start
Indentation width of the level 0 / root node. This is mostly the initial size to accommodate
a tree icon (collapsed / expanded). See indent_level for more information about the
computation of level indentation.
indent_start is a NumericProperty and defaults to 24.
iterate_all_nodes(node=None)
Generator to iterate over all nodes from node and down whether expanded or not. If node is
None, the generator start with root.
iterate_open_nodes(node=None)
Generator to iterate over all the expended nodes starting from node and down. If node is
None, the generator start with root.
To get all the open nodes:
treeview = TreeView()
# ... add nodes ...
for node in treeview.iterate_open_nodes():
print(node)
load_func
Callback to use for asynchronous loading. If set, asynchronous loading will be automatically
done. The callback must act as a Python generator function, using yield to send data back
to the treeview.
The callback should be in the format:
def callback(treeview, node):
for name in ('Item 1', 'Item 2'):
yield TreeViewLabel(text=name)
load_func is a ObjectProperty and defaults to None.

minimum_height
Minimum height needed to contain all children.
minimum_height is a kivy.properties.NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
minimum_size
Minimum size needed to contain all children.
properties.
minimum_width
Minimum width needed to contain all children.
minimum_width is a kivy.properties.NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
remove_node(node)
Removes a node from the tree.
Parameters
node: instance of a TreeViewNodeNode to remove from the tree. If node
is root, it is not removed.
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root
Root node.
By default, the root node widget is a TreeViewLabel with text Root. If you want to
change the default options passed to the widget creation, use the root_options property:
treeview = TreeView(root_options={
'text': 'Root directory',
'font_size': 15})
root_options will change the properties of the TreeViewLabel instance. However, you
cannot change the class used for root node yet.
root is an AliasProperty and defaults to None. It is read-only. However, the content of
the widget can be changed.
root_options
Default root options to pass for root widget. See root property for more information about
the usage of root_options.
root_options is an ObjectProperty and defaults to {}.
select_node(node)
Select a node in the tree.
selected_node
Node selected by TreeView.select_node() or by touch.
selected_node is a AliasProperty and defaults to None. It is read-only.
toggle_node(node)
Toggle the state of the node (open/collapsed).
exception kivy.uix.treeview.TreeViewException
Bases: Exception
Exception for errors in the TreeView.
class kivy.uix.treeview.TreeViewLabel(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.label.Label, kivy.uix.treeview.TreeViewNode
Combines a Label and a TreeViewNode to create a TreeViewLabel that can be used as a text
node in the tree.
See module documentation for more information.
class kivy.uix.treeview.TreeViewNode(**kwargs)
TreeViewNode class, used to build a node class for a TreeView object.
color_selected
Background color of the node when the node is selected.
color_selected is a ListProperty and defaults to [.1, .1, .1, 1].
even_color
Background color of even nodes when the node is not selected.
bg_color is a ListProperty ans defaults to [.5, .5, .5, .1].
is_leaf
Boolean to indicate whether this node is a leaf or not. Used to adjust the graphical representation.
is_leaf is a BooleanProperty and defaults to True. It is automatically set to False when
child is added.
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is_loaded
Boolean to indicate whether this node is already loaded or not. This property is used only if
the TreeView uses asynchronous loading.
is_loaded is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
is_open
Boolean to indicate whether this node is opened or not, in case there are child nodes. This is
used to adjust the graphical representation.
Warning: This property is automatically set by the TreeView. You can read but not
write it.
is_open is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
is_selected
Boolean to indicate whether this node is selected or not. This is used adjust the graphical
representation.
write it.
is_selected is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
level
Level of the node.
level is a NumericProperty and defaults to -1.
no_selection
Boolean used to indicate whether selection of the node is allowed ornot.
no_selection is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
nodes
List of nodes. The nodes list is different than the children list. A node in the nodes list
represents a node on the tree. An item in the children list represents the widget associated
with the node.
write it.
nodes is a ListProperty and defaults to [].
odd
This property is set by the TreeView widget automatically and is read-only.
odd is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
odd_color
Background color of odd nodes when the node is not selected.
odd_color is a ListProperty and defaults to [1., 1., 1., 0.].
parent_node
Parent node. This attribute is needed because the parent can be None when the node is
not displayed.
parent_node is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
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34.45 VKeyboard

VKeyboard is an onscreen keyboard for Kivy. Its operation is intended to be transparent to the user.
Using the widget directly is NOT recommended. Read the section Request keyboard first.
34.45.1 Modes
This virtual keyboard has a docked and free mode:
docked mode (VKeyboard.docked = True) Generally used when only one person is using the
computer, like a tablet or personal computer etc.
free mode: (VKeyboard.docked = False) Mostly for multitouch surfaces. This mode allows
multiple virtual keyboards to be used on the screen.
If the docked mode changes, you need to manually call VKeyboard.setup_mode() otherwise the
change will have no impact. During that call, the VKeyboard, implemented on top of a Scatter, will
change the behavior of the scatter and position the keyboard near the target (if target and docked mode
is set).
34.45.2 Layouts
The virtual keyboard is able to load a custom layout. If you create a new layout and put
the JSON in <kivy_data_dir>/keyboards/<layoutid>.json, you can load it by setting
VKeyboard.layout to your layoutid.
The JSON must be structured like this:
{
"title": "Title of your layout",
"description": "Description of your layout",
"cols": 15,
"rows": 5,
...
}
Then, you need to describe the keys in each row, for either a normal, shift or a special (added
in version 1.9.0) mode. Keys for this row data must be named normal_<row>, shift_<row> and spe-
567
cial_<row>. Replace row with the row number. Inside each row, you will describe the key. A key is a 4
element list in the format:
[ <text displayed on the keyboard>, <text to put when the key is pressed>,
<text that represents the keycode>, <size of cols> ]
Here are example keys:

# f key
["f", "f", "f", 1]
# capslock
["", "
", "tab", 1.5]
Finally, complete the JSON:

{
...
"normal_1": [
["`", "`",
["3", "3",
["6", "6",
["9", "9",
["=", "=",
],
"`",
"3",
"6",
"9",
"=",
1],
1],
1],
1],
1],
["1", "1",
["4", "4",
["7", "7",
["0", "0",
["", null,
"1", 1],
["2",
"4", 1],
["5",
"7", 1],
["8",
"0", 1],
["+",
"backspace", 2]
"2",
"5",
"8",
"+",
"2",
"5",
"8",
"+",
1],
1],
1],
1],
"shift_1": [ ... ],
"normal_2": [ ... ],
"special_2": [ ... ],
...
}
34.45.3 Request Keyboard

The instantiation of the virtual keyboard is controlled by the configuration. Check keyboard_mode and
keyboard_layout in the Configuration object.
If you intend to create a widget that requires a keyboard, do not use the virtual keyboard directly, but
prefer to use the best method available on the platform. Check the request_keyboard() method in
the Window.
If you want a specific layout when you request the keyboard, you should write something like this
(from 1.8.0, numeric.json can be in the same directory as your main.py):
keyboard = Window.request_keyboard(
self._keyboard_close, self)
if keyboard.widget:
vkeyboard = self._keyboard.widget
vkeyboard.layout = 'numeric.json'
class kivy.uix.vkeyboard.VKeyboard(**kwargs)
VKeyboard is an onscreen keyboard with multitouch support. Its layout is entirely customizable
and you can switch between available layouts using a button in the bottom right of the widget.
Events
on_key_down: keycode, internal, modifiersFired when the keyboard received a
key down event (key press).
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on_key_up: keycode, internal, modifiersFired when the keyboard received a

key up event (key release).
available_layouts
Dictionary of all available layouts. Keys are the layout ID, and the value is the JSON (translated into a Python object).
available_layouts is a DictProperty and defaults to {}.
background
Filename of the background image.
background a StringProperty and defaults to atlas://data/images/defaulttheme/vkeyboard_

background_border
Background image border. Used for controlling the border property of the background.
background_border is a ListProperty and defaults to [16, 16, 16, 16]
background_color
Background color, in the format (r, g, b, a). If a background is set, the color will be combined
with the background texture.
background_disabled
Filename of the background image when vkeyboard is disabled.
background_disabled
is
a
StringProperty
and
defaults
atlas://data/images/defaulttheme/vkeyboard__disabled_background.
to
callback
Callback can be set to a function that will be called if the VKeyboard is closed by the user.
target is an ObjectProperty instance and defaults to None.
collide_margin(x, y)
Do a collision test, and return True if the (x, y) is inside the vkeyboard margin.
docked
Indicate whether the VKeyboard is docked on the screen or not. If you change it, you must
manually call setup_mode() otherwise it will have no impact. If the VKeyboard is created
by the Window, the docked mode will be automatically set by the configuration, using the
keyboard_mode token in [kivy] section.
docked is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
key_background_color
Key background color, in the format (r, g, b, a). If a key background is set, the color will be
combined with the key background texture.
key_background_color is a ListProperty and defaults to [1, 1, 1, 1].
key_background_down
Filename of the key background image for use when a touch is active on the widget.
key_background_down
a
StringProperty
and
atlas://data/images/defaulttheme/vkeyboard_key_down.
defaults
to
key_background_normal
Filename of the key background image for use when no touches are active on the widget.
key_background_normal
a
StringProperty
and
atlas://data/images/defaulttheme/vkeyboard_key_normal.
defaults
to
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key_border
Key image border. Used for controlling the border property of the key.
key_border is a ListProperty and defaults to [16, 16, 16, 16]
key_disabled_background_normal
Filename of the key background image for use when no touches are active on the widget
and vkeyboard is disabled.
key_disabled_background_normal a StringProperty and defaults
atlas://data/images/defaulttheme/vkeyboard_disabled_key_normal.
to
key_margin
Key margin, used to create space between keys. The margin is composed of four values, in
pixels:
key_margin = [top, right, bottom, left]
key_margin is a ListProperty and defaults to [2, 2, 2, 2]

layout
Layout to use for the VKeyboard. By default, it will be the layout set in the configuration,
according to the keyboard_layout in [kivy] section.
Changed in version 1.8.0: If layout is a .json filename, it will loaded and added to the available_layouts.
layout is a StringProperty and defaults to None.
layout_path
Path from which layouts are read.
layout is a StringProperty and defaults to <kivy_data_dir>/keyboards/
margin_hint
Margin hint, used as spacing between keyboard background and keys content. The margin
is composed of four values, between 0 and 1:
margin_hint = [top, right, bottom, left]
The margin hints will be multiplied by width and height, according to their position.
margin_hint is a ListProperty and defaults to [.05, .06, .05, .06]
refresh(force=False)
(internal) Recreate the entire widget and graphics according to the selected layout.
setup_mode(*largs)
Call this method when you want to readjust the keyboard according to options: docked or
not, with attached target or not:
If docked is True, it will call setup_mode_dock()
If docked is False, it will call setup_mode_free()
Feel free to overload these methods to create new positioning behavior.
setup_mode_dock(*largs)
Setup the keyboard in docked mode.
Dock mode will reset the rotation, disable translation, rotation and scale. Scale and position
will be automatically adjusted to attach the keyboard to the bottom of the screen.
Note: Dont call this method directly, use setup_mode() instead.
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setup_mode_free()
Setup the keyboard in free mode.
Free mode is designed to let the user control the position and orientation of the keyboard.
The only real usage is for a multiuser environment, but you might found other ways to use
it. If a target is set, it will place the vkeyboard under the target.
Note: Dont call this method directly, use setup_mode() instead.
target
Target widget associated with the VKeyboard. If set, it will be used to send keyboard events.
If the VKeyboard mode is free, it will also be used to set the initial position.
target is an ObjectProperty instance and defaults to None.
34.46 Video
The Video widget is used to display video files and streams. Depending on your Video core provider,
platform, and plugins, you will be able to play different formats. For example, the pygame video
provider only supports MPEG1 on Linux and OSX. GStreamer is more versatile, and can read many
video containers and codecs such as MKV, OGV, AVI, MOV, FLV (if the correct gstreamer plugins are
installed). Our VideoBase implementation is used under the hood.
Video loading is asynchronous - many properties are not available until the video is loaded (when the
texture is created):
def on_position_change(instance, value):
print('The position in the video is', value)
def on_duration_change(instance, value):
print('The duration of the video is', video)
video = Video(source='PandaSneezes.avi')
video.bind(position=on_position_change,
duration=on_duration_change)
class kivy.uix.video.Video(**kwargs)
Video class. See module documentation for more information.
duration
Duration of the video. The duration defaults to -1, and is set to a real duration when the
video is loaded.
duration is a NumericProperty and defaults to -1.
eos
Boolean, indicates whether the video has finished playing or not (reached the end of the
stream).
eos is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
loaded
Boolean, indicates whether the video is loaded and ready for playback or not.
loaded is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
options
Options to pass at Video core object creation.
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options is an kivy.properties.ObjectProperty and defaults to {}.
play
Boolean, indicates whether the video is playing or not. You can start/stop the video by
# start playing the video at creation
video = Video(source='movie.mkv', play=True)
# create the video, and start later
video = Video(source='movie.mkv')
# and later
video.play = True

position
Position of the video between 0 and duration. The position defaults to -1 and is set to a
real position when the video is loaded.
position is a NumericProperty and defaults to -1.
seek(percent)
Change the position to a percentage of duration. Percentage must be a value between 0-1.
Warning: Calling seek() before the video is loaded has no impact.
state
String, indicates whether to play, pause, or stop the video:
video = Video(source='movie.mkv', state='play')
video = Video(source='movie.mkv')
# and later
video.state = 'play'
state is an OptionProperty and defaults to stop.

unload()
Unload the video. The playback will be stopped.
volume
Volume of the video, in the range 0-1. 1 means full volume, 0 means mute.
34.47 Video player

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The video player widget can be used to play video and let the user control the play/pausing, volume
and position. The widget cannot be customized much because of the complex assembly of numerous
base widgets.
34.47.1 Annotations
If you want to display text at a specific time and for a certain duration, consider annotations. An
annotation file has a .jsa extension. The player will automatically load the associated annotation file
if it exists.
An annotation file is JSON-based, providing a list of label dictionary items. The key and value must
match one of the VideoPlayerAnnotation items. For example, here is a short version of a jsa file
that you can find in examples/widgets/softboy.jsa:
[
{"start": 0, "duration": 2,
"text": "This is an example of annotation"},
{"start": 2, "duration": 2,
"bgcolor": [0.5, 0.2, 0.4, 0.5],
"text": "You can change the background color"}
]
For our softboy.avi example, the result will be:
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If you want to experiment with annotation files, test with:

python -m kivy.uix.videoplayer examples/widgets/softboy.avi
34.47.2 Fullscreen
The video player can play the video in fullscreen, if VideoPlayer.allow_fullscreen is activated
by a double-tap on the video. By default, if the video is smaller than the Window, it will be not stretched.
You can allow stretching by passing custom options to a VideoPlayer instance:
player = VideoPlayer(source='myvideo.avi', state='play',
options={'allow_stretch': True})
34.47.3 End-of-stream behavior

You can specify what happens when the video has finished playing by passing an eos (end of stream)
directive to the underlying VideoBase class. eos can be one of stop, pause or loop and defaults to
stop. For example, in order to loop the video:
player = VideoPlayer(source='myvideo.avi', state='play',
options={'eos': 'loop'})
Note: The eos property of the VideoBase class is a string specifying the end-of-stream behavior. This
property differs from the eos properties of the VideoPlayer and Video classes, whose eos property is
simply a boolean indicating that the end of the file has been reached.
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class kivy.uix.videoplayer.VideoPlayer(**kwargs)
VideoPlayer class. See module documentation for more information.
allow_fullscreen
By default, you can double-tap on the video to make it fullscreen. Set this property to False
to prevent this behavior.
allow_fullscreen is a BooleanProperty defaults to True.
annotations
If set, it will be used for reading annotations box.
annotations is a StringProperty and defaults to .
duration
Duration of the video. The duration defaults to -1 and is set to the real duration when the
video is loaded.
duration is a NumericProperty and defaults to -1.
fullscreen
Switch to fullscreen view. This should be used with care. When activated, the widget will
remove itself from its parent, remove all children from the window and will add itself to it.
When fullscreen is unset, all the previous children are restored and the widget is restored to
its previous parent.
Warning: The re-add operation doesnt care about the index position of its children
within the parent.
fullscreen is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
image_loading
Image filename used when the video is loading.
image_loading is a StringProperty and defaults to data/images/image-loading.gif.
image_overlay_play
Image filename used to show a play overlay when the video has not yet started.
image_overlay_play
is
a
StringProperty
atlas://data/images/defaulttheme/player-play-overlay.
and
defaults
to
image_pause
Image filename used for the Pause button.
image_pause
is
a
StringProperty
atlas://data/images/defaulttheme/media-playback-pause.
and
defaults
to
image_play
Image filename used for the Play button.
image_play is a StringProperty and defaults to atlas://data/images/defaulttheme/mediaplayback-start.
image_stop
Image filename used for the Stop button.
image_stop is a StringProperty and defaults to atlas://data/images/defaulttheme/mediaplayback-stop.
image_volumehigh
Image filename used for the volume icon when the volume is high.
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image_volumehigh
is
a
StringProperty
atlas://data/images/defaulttheme/audio-volume-high.
and
defaults
to
and
defaults
to
defaults
to
defaults
to
image_volumelow
Image filename used for the volume icon when the volume is low.
image_volumelow
is
a
StringProperty
atlas://data/images/defaulttheme/audio-volume-low.
image_volumemedium
Image filename used for the volume icon when the volume is medium.
image_volumemedium
is
a
StringProperty
atlas://data/images/defaulttheme/audio-volume-medium.
and
image_volumemuted
Image filename used for the volume icon when the volume is muted.
image_volumemuted
is
a
StringProperty
atlas://data/images/defaulttheme/audio-volume-muted.
and
options
Optional parameters can be passed to a Video instance with this property.
options a DictProperty and defaults to {}.
play
Boolean, indicates whether the video is playing or not. You can start/stop the video by
video = VideoPlayer(source='movie.mkv', play=True)
video = VideoPlayer(source='movie.mkv')
# and later
video.play = True

position
Position of the video between 0 and duration. The position defaults to -1 and is set to the
real position when the video is loaded.
position is a NumericProperty and defaults to -1.
seek(percent)
Change the position to a percentage of the duration. Percentage must be a value between
0-1.
Warning: Calling seek() before video is loaded has no effect.
source
Source of the video to read.
source is a StringProperty and defaults to .
state
String, indicates whether to play, pause, or stop the video:
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video = VideoPlayer(source='movie.mkv', state='play')
video = VideoPlayer(source='movie.mkv')
# and later
video.state = 'play'
state is an OptionProperty and defaults to stop.

thumbnail
Thumbnail of the video to show. If None, VideoPlayer will try to find the thumbnail from
the source + .png.
thumbnail a StringProperty and defaults to .
volume
Volume of the video in the range 0-1. 1 means full volume and 0 means mute.
class kivy.uix.videoplayer.VideoPlayerAnnotation(**kwargs)
Annotation class used for creating annotation labels.
Additional keys are available:
bgcolor: [r, g, b, a] - background color of the text box
bgsource: filename - background image used for the background text box
border: (n, e, s, w) - border used for the background image
duration
Duration of the annotation.
duration is a NumericProperty and defaults to 1.
start
Start time of the annotation.
start is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
34.48 Widget class

The Widget class is the base class required for creating Widgets. This widget class was designed with
a couple of principles in mind:
Event Driven
Widget interaction is built on top of events that occur. If a property changes, the widget can
respond to the change in the on_<propname> callback. If nothing changes, nothing will be done.
Thats the main goal of the Property class.
Separation Of Concerns (the widget and its graphical representation)
Widgets dont have a draw() method. This is done on purpose: The idea is to allow you to create
your own graphical representation outside the widget class. Obviously you can still use all the
available properties to do that, so that your representation properly reflects the widgets current
state. Every widget has its own Canvas that you can use to draw. This separation allows Kivy to
run your application in a very efficient manner.
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Bounding Box / Collision

Often you want to know if a certain point is within the bounds of your widget. An example
would be a button widget where you only want to trigger an action when the button itself is
actually touched. For this, you can use the collide_point() method, which will return True if
the point you pass to it is inside the axis-aligned bounding box defined by the widgets position
and size. If a simple AABB is not sufficient, you can override the method to perform the collision
checks with more complex shapes, e.g. a polygon. You can also check if a widget collides with
another widget with Widget.collide_widget().
We also have some default values and behaviors that you should be aware of:
A Widget is not a Layout: it will not change the position or the size of its children. If you want
control over positioning or sizing, use a Layout.
The default size of a widget is (100, 100). This is only changed if the parent is a Layout. For example, if you add a Label inside a Button, the label will not inherit the buttons size or position
because the button is not a Layout: its just another Widget.
The default size_hint is (1, 1). If the parent is a Layout, then the widget size will be the parent
layouts size.
Widget.on_touch_down(), Widget.on_touch_move(), Widget.on_touch_up() dont
do any sort of collisions. If you want to know if the touch is inside your widget, use
Widget.collide_point().
34.48.1 Using Properties

When you read the documentation, all properties are described in the format:
<name> is a <property class> and defaults to <default value>.
e.g.
text is a StringProperty and defaults to .
If you want to be notified when the pos attribute changes, i.e. when the widget moves, you can bind
your own callback function like this:
def callback_pos(instance, value):
print('The widget', instance, 'moved to', value)
wid = Widget()
wid.bind(pos=callback_pos)
Read more about Properties.
34.48.2 Basic drawing

Widgets support a range of drawing instructions that you can use to customize the look of your widgets
and layouts. For example, to draw a background image for your widget, you can do the following:
def redraw(self, args):
self.bg_rect.size = self.size
self.bg_rect.pos = self.pos
widget = Widget()
with widget.canvas:
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widget.bg_rect = Rectangle(source="cover.jpg", pos=self.pos, size=self.size)

widget.bind(pos=redraw, size=redraw)
To draw a background in kv:

Widget:
canvas:
Rectangle:
source: "cover.jpg"
size: self.size
pos: self.pos
These examples only scratch the surface. Please see the kivy.graphics documentation for more
information.
34.48.3 Widget touch event bubbling

When you catch touch events between multiple widgets, you often need to be aware of the order in
which these events are propogated. In Kivy, events bubble up from the most recently added widget
and then backwards through its children (from the most recently added back to the first child). This
order is the same for the on_touch_move and on_touch_up events.
If you want to reverse this order, you can raise events in the children before the parent by using the
super command. For example:
super(MyWidget, self).on_touch_down(touch)
# Do stuff here
In general, this would seldom be the best approach as every event bubbles all the way through event
time and there is no way of determining if it has been handled. In order to stop this event bubbling,
one of these methods must return True. At this point, Kivy assumes the event has been handled and the
propogation stops.
This means that the recommended approach is to let the event bubble naturally but swallow the event
if it has been handled. For example:
If <some_condition>:
# Do stuff here and kill the event
return True
else:
# Continue normal event bubbling
return super(MyWidget, self).on_touch_down(touch)
This approach gives you good control over exactly how events are dispatched and managed. Sometimes, however, you may wish to let the event be completely propogated before taking action. You can
use the Clock to help you here:
class MyLabel(Label):
def on_touch_down(self, touch, after=False):
if after:
print "Fired after the event has been dispatched!"
else:
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Clock.schedule_once(lambda dt: self.on_touch_down(touch, True))

return super(MyLabel, self).on_touch_down(touch)
34.48.4 Usage of Widget.center, Widget.right, and Widget.top

A common mistake when using one of the computed properties such as Widget.right is to use it to
make a widget follow its parent with a KV rule such as right: self.parent.right. Consider, for example:
FloatLayout:
id: layout
width: 100
Widget:
id: wid
right: layout.right
The (mistaken) expectation is that this rule ensures that wids right will always be whatever layouts
right is - that is wid.right and layout.right will always be identical. In actual fact, this rule only says
that whenever layouts right changes, wids right will be set to that value. The difference being that
as long as layout.right doesnt change, wid.right could be anything, even a value that will make them
different.
Specifically, for the KV code above, consider the following example:
>>> print(layout.right, wid.right)
(100, 100)
>>> wid.x = 200
>>> print(layout.right, wid.right)
(100, 300)
As can be seen, initially they are in sync, however, when we change wid.x they go out of sync because
layout.right is not changed and the rule is not triggered.
The proper way to make the widget follow its parents right is to use Widget.pos_hint. If instead
of right: layout.right we did pos_hint: {right: 1}, then the widgets right will always be set to be at the
parents right at each layout update.
class kivy.uix.widget.Widget(**kwargs)
Bases: kivy.uix.widget.WidgetBase
Widget class. See module documentation for more information.
Events
on_touch_down:Fired when a new touch event occurs
on_touch_move:Fired when an existing touch moves
on_touch_up:Fired when an existing touch disappears
Warning: Adding a __del__ method to a class derived from Widget with Python prior to 3.4
will disable automatic garbage collection for instances of that class. This is because the Widget
class creates reference cycles, thereby preventing garbage collection.
Changed in version 1.0.9: Everything related to event properties has been moved to the
EventDispatcher. Event properties can now be used when contructing a simple class without subclassing Widget.
Changed in version 1.5.0: The constructor now accepts on_* arguments to automatically bind
callbacks to properties or events, as in the Kv language.
add_widget(widget, index=0, canvas=None)
Add a new widget as a child of this widget.
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Parameters
widget: WidgetWidget to add to our list of children.
index: int, defaults to 0Index to insert the widget in the list.
canvas: str, defaults to NoneCanvas to add widgets canvas to.
Can be before, after or None for the default canvas.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>

root = Widget()
root.add_widget(Button())
slider = Slider()
root.add_widget(slider)
canvas = None
Canvas of the widget.
The canvas is a graphics object that contains all the drawing instructions for the graphical
representation of the widget.
There are no general properties for the Widget class, such as background color, to keep the
design simple and lean. Some derived classes, such as Button, do add such convenience
properties but generally the developer is responsible for implementing the graphics representation for a custom widget from the ground up. See the derived widget classes for
patterns to follow and extend.
See Canvas for more information about the usage.
center
Center position of the widget.
center is a ReferenceListProperty of (center_x, center_y) properties.
center_x
X center position of the widget.
center_x is an AliasProperty of (x + width / 2.).
center_y
Y center position of the widget.
center_y is an AliasProperty of (y + height / 2.).
children
List of children of this widget.
children is a ListProperty and defaults to an empty list.
Use add_widget() and remove_widget() for manipulating the children list. Dont manipulate the children list directly unless you know what you are doing.
clear_widgets(children=None)
Remove all (or the specified) children of this widget. If the children argument is specified, it should be a list (or filtered list) of children of the current widget.
Changed in version 1.8.0: The children argument can be used to specify the children you
want to remove.
cls
Class of the widget, used for styling.
collide_point(x, y)
Check if a point (x, y) is inside the widgets axis aligned bounding box.
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Parameters
x: numericx position of the point (in window coordinates)
y: numericy position of the point (in window coordinates)
ReturnsA bool. True if the point is inside the bounding box, False otherwise.
>>> Widget(pos=(10, 10), size=(50, 50)).collide_point(40, 40)
True
collide_widget(wid)
Check if another widget collides with this widget. This function performs an axis-aligned
bounding box intersection test by default.
Parameters
wid: Widget classWidget to collide with.
Returnsbool. True if the other widget collides with this widget, False otherwise.
>>> wid = Widget(size=(50, 50))
>>> wid2 = Widget(size=(50, 50), pos=(25, 25))
>>> wid.collide_widget(wid2)
True
>>> wid2.pos = (55, 55)
>>> wid.collide_widget(wid2)
False
disabled
Indicates whether this widget can interact with input or not.
Note:
1.Child Widgets, when added to a disabled widget, will be disabled automatically.
2.Disabling/enabling a parent disables/enables all of its children.
disabled is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
export_to_png(filename, *args)
Saves an image of the widget and its children in png format at the specified filename. Works
by removing the widget canvas from its parent, rendering to an Fbo, and calling save().
Note: The image includes only this widget and its children. If you want to include widgets
elsewhere in the tree, you must call export_to_png() from their common parent, or use
screenshot() to capture the whole window.
Note: The image will be saved in png format, you should include the extension in your
filename.
get_parent_window()
Return the parent window.
ReturnsInstance of the parent window. Can be a WindowBase or Widget.
get_root_window()
Return the root window.
ReturnsInstance of the root window. Can be a WindowBase or Widget.
get_window_matrix(x=0, y=0)
Calculate the transformation matrix to convert between window and widget coordinates.
Parameters
x: float, defaults to 0Translates the matrix on the x axis.
y: float, defaults to 0Translates the matrix on the y axis.
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height
Height of the widget.
height is a NumericProperty and defaults to 100.
Warning: Keep in mind that the height property is subject to layout logic and that this
has not yet happened at the time of the widgets __init__ method.
id
Unique identifier of the widget in the tree.
id is a StringProperty and defaults to None.
Warning: If the id is already used in the tree, an exception will be raised.
ids
This is a dictionary of ids defined in your kv language. This will only be populated if you
use ids in your kv language code.
ids is a DictProperty and defaults to an empty dict {}.
The ids are populated for each root level widget definition. For example:
# in kv
<MyWidget@Widget>:
id: my_widget
Label:
id: label_widget
Widget:
id: inner_widget
Label:
id: inner_label
TextInput:
id: text_input
OtherWidget:
id: other_widget
<OtherWidget@Widget>
id: other_widget
Label:
id: other_label
TextInput:
id: other_textinput
Then, in python:
>>> widget = MyWidget()
>>> print(widget.ids)
{'other_widget': <weakproxy at 041CFED0 to OtherWidget at 041BEC38>,
'inner_widget': <weakproxy at 04137EA0 to Widget at 04138228>,
'inner_label': <weakproxy at 04143540 to Label at 04138260>,
'label_widget': <weakproxy at 04137B70 to Label at 040F97A0>,
'text_input': <weakproxy at 041BB5D0 to TextInput at 041BEC00>}
>>> print(widget.ids['other_widget'].ids)
{'other_textinput': <weakproxy at 041DBB40 to TextInput at 041BEF48>,
'other_label': <weakproxy at 041DB570 to Label at 041BEEA0>}
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>>> print(widget.ids['label_widget'].ids)
{}
Receive a touch down event.
Parameters
touch: MotionEvent classTouch received. The touch is in parent coordinates. See relativelayout for a discussion on coordinate systems.
Returnsbool. If True, the dispatching of the touch event will stop. If False, the
event will continue to be dispatched to the rest of the widget tree.
Receive a touch move event. The touch is in parent coordinates.
on_touch_up(touch)
Receive a touch up event. The touch is in parent coordinates.
opacity
Opacity of the widget and all its children.
The opacity attribute controls the opacity of the widget and its children. Be careful, its a
cumulative attribute: the value is multiplied by the current global opacity and the result is
For example, if the parent has an opacity of 0.5 and a child has an opacity of 0.2, the real
Then, the opacity is applied by the shader as:
opacity is a NumericProperty and defaults to 1.0.

parent
Parent of this widget. The parent of a widget is set when the widget is added to another
widget and unset when the widget is removed from its parent.
parent is an ObjectProperty and defaults to None.
pos
Position of the widget.
pos is a ReferenceListProperty of (x, y) properties.
pos_hint
Position hint. This property allows you to set the position of the widget inside its parent
layout, in percent (similar to size_hint).
For example, if you want to set the top of the widget to be at 90% height of its parent layout,
you can write:
widget = Widget(pos_hint={'top': 0.9})
The keys x, right and center_x will use the parent width. The keys y, top and center_y will use the parent height.
See Float Layout for further reference.
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Note: pos_hint is not used by all layouts. Check the documentation of the layout in
question to see if it supports pos_hint.
pos_hint is an ObjectProperty containing a dict.
proxy_ref
Return a proxy reference to the widget, i.e. without creating a reference to the widget. See
weakref.proxy for more information.
remove_widget(widget)
Remove a widget from the children of this widget.
Parameters
widget: WidgetWidget to remove from our children list.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>

root = Widget()
button = Button()
root.add_widget(button)
root.remove_widget(button)
right
Right position of the widget.
right is an AliasProperty of (x + width).
size
Size of the widget.
size is a ReferenceListProperty of (width, height) properties.
size_hint
Size hint.
size_hint is a ReferenceListProperty of (size_hint_x, size_hint_y) properties.
See size_hint_x for more information.
size_hint_x
X size hint. Represents how much space the widget should use in the direction of the X axis
relative to its parents width. Only the Layout and Window classes make use of the hint.
The size_hint is used by layouts for two purposes:
When the layout considers widgets on their own rather than in relation to its other
children, the size_hint_x is a direct proportion of the parent width, normally between
0.0 and 1.0. For instance, a widget with size_hint_x=0.5 in a vertical BoxLayout will take up half the BoxLayouts width, or a widget in a FloatLayout with
size_hint_x=0.2 will take up 20% of the FloatLayout width. If the size_hint is
greater than 1, the widget will be wider than the parent.
When multiple widgets can share a row of a layout, such as in a horizontal BoxLayout,
their widths will be their size_hint_x as a fraction of the sum of widget size_hints. For
instance, if the size_hint_xs are (0.5, 1.0, 0.5), the first widget will have a width of 25%
of the parent width.
size_hint_x is a NumericProperty and defaults to 1.
size_hint_y
Y size hint.
size_hint_y is a NumericProperty and defaults to 1.
See size_hint_x for more information, but with widths and heights swapped.
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to_local(x, y, relative=False)
Transform parent coordinates to local coordinates. See relativelayout for details on the
coordinate systems.
Parameters
relative: bool, defaults to FalseChange to True if you want to translate coordinates to relative widget coordinates.
to_parent(x, y, relative=False)
Transform local coordinates to parent coordinates. See relativelayout for details on the
coordinate systems.
Parameters
relative: bool, defaults to FalseChange to True if you want to translate relative positions from a widget to its parent coordinates.
to_widget(x, y, relative=False)
Convert the given coordinate from window to local widget coordinates.
relativelayout for details on the coordinate systems.
See
to_window(x, y, initial=True, relative=False)

Transform local coordinates to window coordinates. See relativelayout for details on
the coordinate systems.
top
Top position of the widget.
top is an AliasProperty of (y + height).
walk(restrict=False, loopback=False)
Iterator that walks the widget tree starting with this widget and goes forward returning
widgets in the order in which layouts display them.
Parameters
restrict: bool, defaults to FalseIf True, it will only iterate through the widget and its children (or children of its children etc.). Defaults to False.
loopback: bool, defaults to FalseIf True, when the last widget in the tree
is reached, itll loop back to the uppermost root and start walking
until we hit this widget again. Naturally, it can only loop back when
restrict is False. Defaults to False.
ReturnsA generator that walks the tree, returning widgets in the forward layout
order.
For example, given a tree with the following structure:
GridLayout:
Button
BoxLayout:
id: box
Widget
Button
Widget
walking this tree:

>>> # Call walk on box with loopback True, and restrict False
>>> [type(widget) for widget in box.walk(loopback=True)]
[<class 'BoxLayout'>, <class 'Widget'>, <class 'Button'>,
<class 'Widget'>, <class 'GridLayout'>, <class 'Button'>]
>>> # Now with loopback False, and restrict False
>>> [type(widget) for widget in box.walk()]
[<class 'BoxLayout'>, <class 'Widget'>, <class 'Button'>,
<class 'Widget'>]
586
>>> # Now with restrict True

>>> [type(widget) for widget in box.walk(restrict=True)]
[<class 'BoxLayout'>, <class 'Widget'>, <class 'Button'>]

walk_reverse(loopback=False)
Iterator that walks the widget tree backwards starting with the widget before this, and going
backwards returning widgets in the reverse order in which layouts display them.
This walks in the opposite direction of walk(), so a list of the tree generated with walk()
will be in reverse order compared to the list generated with this, provided loopback is True.
Parameters
loopback: bool, defaults to FalseIf True, when the uppermost root in the
tree is reached, itll loop back to the last widget and start walking
back until after we hit widget again. Defaults to False.
ReturnsA generator that walks the tree, returning widgets in the reverse layout
order.
For example, given a tree with the following structure:
GridLayout:
Button
BoxLayout:
id: box
Widget
Button
Widget
walking this tree:

>>> # Call walk on box with loopback True
>>> [type(widget) for widget in box.walk_reverse(loopback=True)]
[<class 'Button'>, <class 'GridLayout'>, <class 'Widget'>,
<class 'Button'>, <class 'Widget'>, <class 'BoxLayout'>]
>>> # Now with loopback False
>>> [type(widget) for widget in box.walk_reverse()]
[<class 'Button'>, <class 'GridLayout'>]
>>> forward = [w for w in box.walk(loopback=True)]
>>> backward = [w for w in box.walk_reverse(loopback=True)]
>>> forward == backward[::-1]
True

width
Width of the widget.
width is a NumericProperty and defaults to 100.
Warning: Keep in mind that the width property is subject to layout logic and that this
has not yet happened at the time of the widgets __init__ method.
x
X position of the widget.
x is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.
y
Y position of the widget.
587
y is a NumericProperty and defaults to 0.

exception kivy.uix.widget.WidgetException
Bases: Exception
Fired when the widget gets an exception.
34.49 reStructuredText renderer

reStructuredText is an easy-to-read, what-you-see-is-what-you-get plaintext markup syntax and parser
system.
Warning: This widget is highly experimental. The whole styling and implementation are not stable
until this warning has been removed.
34.49.1 Usage with Text

text = """
.. _top:
Hello world
===========
This is an **emphased text**, some `ìnterpreted text``.
And this is a reference to top_::
$ print("Hello world")
"""
document = RstDocument(text=text)
The rendering will output:
34.49.2 Usage with Source

You can also render a rst file using the RstDocument.source property:
document = RstDocument(source='index.rst')
588
You can reference other documents with the role :doc:. For example, in the document index.rst
you can write:
Go to my next document: :doc:`moreinfo.rst`
It will generate a link that, when clicked, opens the moreinfo.rst document.
class kivy.uix.rst.RstDocument(**kwargs)
Base widget used to store an Rst document. See module documentation for more information.
background_color
Specifies the background_color to be used for the RstDocument.
background_color is an AliasProperty for colors[background].
base_font_size
Font size for the biggest title, 31 by default. All other font sizes are derived from this.
colors
Dictionary of all the colors used in the RST rendering.
Warning:
This dictionary is needs special handling.
RstDocument.render() if you change them after loading.
You also need to call
colors is a DictProperty.
document_root
Root path where :doc: will search for rst documents. If no path is given, it will use the
directory of the first loaded source file.
document_root is a StringProperty and defaults to None.
goto(ref, *largs)
Scroll to the reference. If its not found, nothing will be done.
For this text:
.. _myref:
This is something I always wanted.
You can do:

from functools import partial
doc = RstDocument(...)
Clock.schedule_once(partial(doc.goto, 'myref'), 0.1)
Note: It is preferable to delay the call of the goto if you just loaded the document because
the layout might not be finished or the size of the RstDocument has not yet been determined.
In either case, the calculation of the scrolling would be wrong.
You can, however, do a direct call if the document is already loaded.
589
preload(filename, encoding=utf-8, errors=strict)

Preload a rst file to get its toctree and its title.
The result will be stored in toctrees with the filename as key.
render()
Force document rendering.
resolve_path(filename)
Get the path for this filename. If the filename doesnt exist, it returns the document_root +
filename.
show_errors
Indicate whether RST parsers errors should be shown on the screen or not.
show_errors is a BooleanProperty and defaults to False.
source
Filename of the RST document.
source is a StringProperty and defaults to None.
source_encoding
Encoding to be used for the source file.
source_encoding is a StringProperty and defaults to utf-8.
Note: It is your responsibility to ensure that the value provided is a valid codec supported
by python.
source_error
Error handling to be used while encoding the source file.
source_error is an OptionProperty and defaults to strict. Can be one of strict, ignore, replace, xmlcharrefreplace or backslashreplac.
text
RST markup text of the document.
text is a StringProperty and defaults to None.
title
Title of the current document.
title is a StringProperty and defaults to . It is read-only.
toctrees
Toctree of all loaded or preloaded documents. This dictionary is filled when a rst document
is explicitly loaded or where preload() has been called.
If the document has no filename, e.g. when the document is loaded from a text file, the key
will be .
toctrees is a DictProperty and defaults to {}.
underline_color
underline color of the titles, expressed in html color notation
underline_color is a StringProperty and defaults to 204a9699.
590
Part V
APPENDIX
The appendix contains licensing information and an enumeration of all the different modules, classes,
functions and variables available in Kivy.
591
592
CHAPTER
THIRTYFIVE
LICENSE
Kivy is released and distributed under the terms of the MIT license starting version 1.7.2. Older versions
are still under the LGPLv3.
You should have received a copy of the MIT license alongside your Kivy distribution. See the LICENSE
file in the Kivy root folder. An online version of the license can be found at:
https://github.com/kivy/kivy/blob/master/LICENSE
In a nutshell, the license allows you to use Kivy in your own projects regardless of whether they are
open source, closed source, commercial or free. Even if the license doesnt require it, we would really
appreciate when you make changes to the Kivy sourcecode itself, share those changes with us!
For a list of authors, please see the file AUTHORS that accompanies the Kivy source code distribution
(next to LICENSE).
Kivy Copyright 2010-2015, The Kivy Authors.
593
594
PYTHON MODULE INDEX
k
kivy, 161
kivy.adapters, 259
kivy.adapters.adapter, 260
kivy.adapters.args_converters, 262
kivy.adapters.dictadapter, 261
kivy.adapters.listadapter, 263
kivy.adapters.models, 265
kivy.adapters.simplelistadapter, 266
kivy.animation, 162
kivy.app, 172
kivy.atlas, 185
kivy.base, 213
kivy.cache, 188
kivy.clock, 190
kivy.compat, 195
kivy.config, 195
kivy.context, 200
kivy.core, 267
kivy.core.audio, 267
kivy.core.camera, 269
kivy.core.clipboard, 269
kivy.core.gl, 270
kivy.core.image, 270
kivy.core.spelling, 274
kivy.core.text, 275
kivy.core.text.markup, 277
kivy.core.text.text_layout, 278
kivy.core.video, 281
kivy.core.window, 282
kivy.deps, 291
kivy.effects, 293
kivy.effects.dampedscroll, 293
kivy.effects.kinetic, 294
kivy.effects.opacityscroll, 295
kivy.effects.scroll, 295
kivy.event, 200
kivy.ext, 297
kivy.factory, 207
kivy.garden, 301
kivy.geometry, 208
kivy.gesture, 209
kivy.graphics, 303
kivy.graphics.compiler, 335
kivy.graphics.context, 331
kivy.graphics.context_instructions,
327
kivy.graphics.fbo, 332
kivy.graphics.gl_instructions, 334
kivy.graphics.instructions, 323
kivy.graphics.opengl, 336
kivy.graphics.opengl_utils, 344
kivy.graphics.scissor_instructions,
346
kivy.graphics.shader, 347
kivy.graphics.stencil_instructions,
349
kivy.graphics.svg, 346
kivy.graphics.tesselator, 351
kivy.graphics.texture, 353
kivy.graphics.transformation, 359
kivy.graphics.vertex_instructions, 362
kivy.input, 371
kivy.input.factory, 387
kivy.input.motionevent, 383
kivy.input.postproc, 373
kivy.input.postproc.calibration, 373
kivy.input.postproc.dejitter, 374
kivy.input.postproc.doubletap, 374
kivy.input.postproc.ignorelist, 374
kivy.input.postproc.retaintouch, 375
kivy.input.postproc.tripletap, 375
kivy.input.provider, 388
kivy.input.providers, 375
kivy.input.providers.hidinput, 377
kivy.input.providers.leapfinger, 376
kivy.input.providers.linuxwacom, 378
kivy.input.providers.mactouch, 378
kivy.input.providers.mouse, 376
kivy.input.providers.mtdev, 378
kivy.input.providers.probesysfs, 375
kivy.input.providers.tuio, 379
kivy.input.providers.wm_common, 376
kivy.input.providers.wm_pen, 379
kivy.input.providers.wm_touch, 379
kivy.input.recorder, 381
kivy.input.shape, 388
595
kivy.interactive, 210
kivy.lang, 215
kivy.lib, 389
kivy.lib.gstplayer, 389
kivy.loader, 183
kivy.logger, 229
kivy.metrics, 230
kivy.modules, 391
kivy.modules.console, 392
kivy.modules.inspector, 396
kivy.modules.keybinding, 397
kivy.modules.monitor, 397
kivy.modules.recorder, 398
kivy.modules.screen, 398
kivy.modules.touchring, 399
kivy.modules.webdebugger, 399
kivy.multistroke, 232
kivy.network, 401
kivy.network.urlrequest, 401
kivy.parser, 240
kivy.properties, 241
kivy.resources, 251
kivy.setupconfig, 162
kivy.storage, 405
kivy.storage.dictstore, 408
kivy.storage.jsonstore, 408
kivy.storage.redisstore, 409
kivy.support, 252
kivy.uix, 411
kivy.uix.abstractview, 433
kivy.uix.accordion, 433
kivy.uix.actionbar, 437
kivy.uix.anchorlayout, 441
kivy.uix.behaviors, 411
kivy.uix.behaviors.button, 423
kivy.uix.behaviors.codenavigation, 424
kivy.uix.behaviors.compoundselection,
424
kivy.uix.behaviors.drag, 428
kivy.uix.behaviors.emacs, 417
kivy.uix.behaviors.focus, 429
kivy.uix.behaviors.knspace, 418
kivy.uix.behaviors.togglebutton, 432
kivy.uix.boxlayout, 443
kivy.uix.bubble, 444
kivy.uix.button, 447
kivy.uix.camera, 449
kivy.uix.carousel, 450
kivy.uix.checkbox, 452
kivy.uix.codeinput, 454
kivy.uix.colorpicker, 455
kivy.uix.dropdown, 457
kivy.uix.effectwidget, 459
kivy.uix.filechooser, 463
kivy.uix.floatlayout, 471
596
kivy.uix.gesturesurface, 473
kivy.uix.gridlayout, 476
kivy.uix.image, 479
kivy.uix.label, 482
kivy.uix.layout, 490
kivy.uix.listview, 491
kivy.uix.modalview, 501
kivy.uix.pagelayout, 503
kivy.uix.popup, 503
kivy.uix.progressbar, 506
kivy.uix.relativelayout, 507
kivy.uix.rst, 588
kivy.uix.sandbox, 511
kivy.uix.scatter, 512
kivy.uix.scatterlayout, 515
kivy.uix.screenmanager, 516
kivy.uix.scrollview, 523
kivy.uix.settings, 528
kivy.uix.slider, 535
kivy.uix.spinner, 537
kivy.uix.splitter, 539
kivy.uix.stacklayout, 541
kivy.uix.stencilview, 543
kivy.uix.switch, 543
kivy.uix.tabbedpanel, 545
kivy.uix.textinput, 550
kivy.uix.togglebutton, 561
kivy.uix.treeview, 561
kivy.uix.video, 571
kivy.uix.videoplayer, 572
kivy.uix.vkeyboard, 567
kivy.uix.widget, 577
kivy.utils, 252
kivy.vector, 254
kivy.weakmethod, 258
kivy.weakproxy, 162

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Kivy Documentation

Controlling the environment

10 Events and Properties

Accessing Widgets defined inside Kv lang in your python code

15 Integrating with other Frameworks

18 Packaging your application

19 Pong Game Tutorial

20 A Simple Paint App

Compatibility module for Python 2.7 and > 3.3

24 Kivy module for binary dependencies.

Python Module Index

1.1 Stable Version

1.1.1 Installation on Windows

What are wheels, pip and wheel

2. Install the dependencies (skip gstreamer (~90MB) if not needed):

Nightly wheel installation

2. Rename the wheel to remove the version tag, e.g. Kivy-1.9.1.dev0_30112015_gitc68b630-cp27-none-wi

3. Create the python\Lib\distutils\distutils.cfg file and add the two lines:

4. Install MinGW with:

5. Set the environment variables. On windows do:

These variables must be set everytime you recompile kivy.

Start any Kivy Application

Start from the Command Line

You should get a Python prompt.

If it just goes to the next line without errors, it worked.

2. Install cython 0.21.2 and kivy using pip:

1.1.3 Installation on Linux

Ubuntu / Kubuntu / Xubuntu / Lubuntu (Saucy and above)

Debian (Jessie or newer)

daily builds deb

daily builds deb

Notice: Wheezy is not supported - Youll need to upgrade to Jessie at least!

2. Use your preferred package-manager to refresh your packagelists

1.1.4 Installation in a Virtual Environment

Dependencies with SDL2

# Install stable version of Kivy into the virtualenv

Install additional Virtualenv packages

Start from the Command Line

$ python -c "import pkg_resources; print(pkg_resources.resource_filename('kivy', '../share/kivy-e

And you should have a path similar to:

Then you can go to the example directory, and run it:

3. Then, you can access to kivy-examples directly in your home directory:

Then, inside each main.py, add a new first line:

1.1.5 Installation on Android

1.1.6 Installation on Raspberry Pi

Manual installation (On Raspbian Jessie)

2. Install Kivy globally on your system:

3. Or build and use kivy inplace (best for development):

Manual installation (On Raspbian Wheezy)

2. Add APT key for vontaene.de:

3. Install the dependencies:

4. Install pip from source:

5. Install Cython from sources (debian package are outdated):

6. Install Kivy globally on your system:

7. Or build and use kivy inplace (best for development):

git clone https://github.com/kivy/kivy

3d monkey demo is also fun too see:

Change the default screen to use

Check the guide/environment documentation to see all the possible value.